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JUNE 2021 Blues Vol 37 No. 6.5

JUNE 2021 Blues Vol 37 No. 6 • The History of the Galveston Island Beach Patrol • Beach Safety Tips • It's Island Time - Where to Stay, Eat & Play on the Island • The Texas School District Police Chiefs Conference • State & National Law Enforcement News • Warstory - What Happened to Susan Miller? • President Biden Receives Light Bulb Award • Open Road - The End of the HEMI? • Fishing with Rusty Barron • Dr. Tina speaks with David Edwards - Humanizing the Badge

JUNE 2021 Blues Vol 37 No. 6
• The History of the Galveston Island Beach Patrol
• Beach Safety Tips
• It's Island Time - Where to Stay, Eat & Play on the Island
• The Texas School District Police Chiefs Conference
• State & National Law Enforcement News
• Warstory - What Happened to Susan Miller?
• President Biden Receives Light Bulb Award
• Open Road - The End of the HEMI?
• Fishing with Rusty Barron
• Dr. Tina speaks with David Edwards - Humanizing the Badge

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The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 1


<strong>JUNE</strong> <strong>2021</strong><br />

FEATURES<br />

46 HISTORY OF THE GALVESTON ISLAND BEACH PATROL<br />

78 BEACH SAFETY TIPS<br />

80 BEACH WARNING FLAG SYSTEM<br />

82 TEXAS SCHOOL DISTRICT POLICE CHIEF’S CONFERENCE<br />

86 IT’S ISLAND TIME - WHERE TO STAY, EAT & PLAY<br />

OUR TEAM<br />

OUR CONTRIBUTORS<br />

On the Cover<br />

For over 146 years, Galveston<br />

Island has some type of lifesaving<br />

service for the island’s<br />

beaches. Since 1983, The Galveston<br />

Island Beach Patrol has<br />

assumed those duties and under<br />

the direction of Chief Peter<br />

Davis, is now one of the finest<br />

Beach Patrols in the US.<br />

40<br />

44<br />

DEPARTMENTS<br />

4 Publisher’s Thoughts<br />

6 Editor’s Thoughts<br />

8 Guest Editorial - Letter to the President<br />

10 Guest Editorial - Last Shift as a Cop<br />

11 Your Thoughts<br />

14 News Around the State<br />

32 News Around the Country<br />

96 Light Bulb Award<br />

98 Blue Mental Health with Dr. Tina Jaeckle<br />

100 HPOU - A Message from Douglas Griffith<br />

102 Running 4 Heroes<br />

104 Remembering My Hero - Officer John Salvaggio<br />

108 Honoring our Fallen Heroes<br />

116 Outdoors with Rusty Barron<br />

118 Marketplace - Discounts for LEOs<br />

124 Parting Shots<br />

126 <strong>No</strong>w Hiring - L.E.O. Positions Open in Texas<br />

94<br />

98<br />

MICHAEL BARRON<br />

founder & publisher<br />

MICHAEL BARRON<br />

editor-n-chief<br />

REX EVANS<br />

contributing editor<br />

DIANE TRYKOWSKI<br />

creative editor<br />

RUSTY BARRON<br />

outdoor editor<br />

TINA JAECKLE<br />

contributing editor<br />

DARYL LOTT<br />

contributing editor<br />

SAM HORWITZ & JOHN SALERNO<br />

contributing editors<br />

DOUGLAS GRIFFITH<br />

HPOU contributing editor<br />

JANICE VANZURA<br />

sales mgr / austin<br />

CHRISTINA FRASER<br />

sales mgr / national<br />

T. EDISON<br />

light bulb award<br />

SHERIFF ED GONZALEZ<br />

HCSO newsletter<br />

OFFICER BARRETT<br />

warstories/aftermath editor<br />

JOE FRIDAY / BILL GANNON<br />

contributing editor<br />

KELSEY BRADSHAW<br />

contributing editor<br />

HERBERT G. MCCANN<br />

contributing editor<br />

JACOB SCHOLL<br />

contributing editor<br />

MARYBESS SALVAGGIO<br />

contributing editor / COPS<br />

PHOTOGRAPHY<br />

VICKY PINK<br />

cover<br />

90<br />

DARYL’S DELIBERATIONS<br />

by DARYL LOTT<br />

BLUE MENTAL HEALTH by TINA JAECKLE<br />

The BLUES Police Magazine is published monthly by Kress-Barr, LLC, P.O. Box 2733, League City Texas 77574. The opinions<br />

expressed in articles, op-eds and editorials are those of each individual author and do not reflect the opinion of<br />

The BLUES or its parent company. Rebuttals or submission of news articles and editorials may be submitted to:<br />

The BLUES Police Magazine - bluespdmag@gmail.com. The entire contents of The BLUES is copyrighted© and may not be<br />

reproduced or reprinted without the express permission of the publisher. The BLUES logo is a Trademark of Kress-Barr, LLC.<br />

2 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 3


A Trip Back in Time<br />

Two things happened in 1983 that<br />

continue to be significant in Texas<br />

law enforcement today. One, it<br />

was the year that planning began<br />

to create what would later become<br />

The BLUES, a newsletter of sorts<br />

for the Harris County Sheriff’s Department.<br />

And two, some forty-five<br />

miles south on Galveston Island,<br />

the Galveston Island Beach Patrol<br />

began a new journey of its own<br />

under the leadership of man named<br />

Vic Maceo.<br />

The Beach Patrol actually began<br />

in 1875 when a lifesaving station<br />

was established at San Luis Pass.<br />

Over the years, the beach patrol<br />

bounced back and forth between<br />

municipal departments with no<br />

real commitment for funding or<br />

ownership. Finally, in 1983 Vic Maceo<br />

was appointed as the Director<br />

of the Galveston Island Beach<br />

Patrol under the direction of Sheriff<br />

Joe Max Taylor and the Galveston<br />

County Sheriff’s Department.<br />

Over the course of the next 38<br />

years since, only two people really<br />

have guided the Beach Patrol ship<br />

—Maceo and Peter Davis. Vic was<br />

the Captain (he was a Major at<br />

Galveston County, but this is a ships<br />

story and there are only Captains…<br />

lol) of the ship from 1983 to 2007<br />

and Peter Davis was his first mate<br />

and second in command. In 2007,<br />

Maceo retired, and Davis took the<br />

helm and has been there ever since.<br />

In the years they were together,<br />

the two of them ran a tight<br />

ship and guided it through some<br />

turbulent waters – both literally<br />

and figuratively. There were hurricanes,<br />

floods, beach erosions,<br />

budget increases, budget cuts,<br />

good years, bad years, and the<br />

never-ending change of lifeguards.<br />

Every year new recruits would be<br />

chosen and trained to be the best<br />

of the best. Some remained from<br />

previous years and some moved<br />

on. It was an ever-changing cast<br />

of characters. What remained the<br />

same was those two guys at the<br />

helm. Together they created one of<br />

the finest Beach Patrol units in the<br />

United States.<br />

I visited Peter a couple weeks<br />

ago and it was truly a trip back<br />

in time. It’s been 14 years since<br />

I walked those stairs to the Patrol<br />

Office on the top floor of the<br />

Stewart Beach Pavilion. Other than<br />

the fact the office is now located<br />

in what used to be the Beach Club,<br />

everything looks pretty much the<br />

same. The walls still have pictures<br />

of lifeguards from years gone by<br />

including Leroy Colombo, the greatest<br />

lifeguard of all time.<br />

In a way you can say nothing<br />

has changed and everything has<br />

changed. The people are all new,<br />

MICHAEL BARRON<br />

the offices are in a new place, the<br />

uniforms and the trucks are all<br />

painted a new color and for the<br />

first time, the Beach Patrol is its<br />

own police department. What<br />

hasn’t changed is the number one<br />

goal of everyone that works there<br />

– get through an entire season and<br />

not have to recover a single body.<br />

Everyone that’s ever worked there<br />

knows that rarely happens and<br />

someone always drowns during<br />

the year. But that doesn’t stop all<br />

100+ members of the department<br />

from working night and day to save<br />

each and every person that gets in<br />

trouble on Galveston’s 32 miles of<br />

beaches. It’s an exhausting job, but<br />

men and women of the Galveston<br />

Beach Patrol wouldn’t have it any<br />

other way.<br />

For me personally, I’m extremely<br />

proud of the time I spent with<br />

Galveston County and the Galveston<br />

County Beach Patrol and it was<br />

honor and a privilege to serve under<br />

Vic Maceo and Peter Davis. These<br />

guys are truly the best of the best.<br />

But now the question remains, who<br />

is going to step up and take the<br />

helm when Peter Davis retires?<br />

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4 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 5<br />

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I’ve been in Law Enforcement and As for Samuel, I can only sincerely<br />

$150,000 Fire/Rescue for a long time ..what now. I pray it won’t he did not suffer, get and he you. never<br />

have unfortunately seen my fair share<br />

of child death cases. Whether by accident<br />

or intentional, such cases stay<br />

with you forever. They just do.<br />

That being said, so do some of the<br />

most gruesome and selfish kinds of<br />

crimes, you know the ones. Where<br />

the husband figures, “If I can’t haver<br />

her, no one can!” Then, he takes her<br />

life and his, leaving the kids to face<br />

this world the rest of their lives alone.<br />

Some would say, “It’s only getting<br />

worse.” But I don’t know about that. I<br />

have been responding to these kind of<br />

crimes my whole career. Kids paying<br />

the price for the adult’s stupidity, selfishness,<br />

and extreme violence.<br />

In my career, I have held dying men,<br />

women, and children. I was the last<br />

face they saw. The last words they<br />

heard were from me. The kids, they’re<br />

the hardest to try and push past. I<br />

have tried, and I have failed. There’s<br />

not a day or night that goes by where<br />

I do not remember them..…one and<br />

all.<br />

As Houston Police, Jasper Police,<br />

The Texas Rangers and others work<br />

through the series of events, statements<br />

and actions in regard to the<br />

Samuel Olson case (the missing, now<br />

found deceased 6 year old child)<br />

I cannot help but to feel extreme<br />

sorrow for them all. For the sight of<br />

a deceased child is completely and<br />

utterly unnatural. It defies all human<br />

logic and emotion. It’ll leave a huge<br />

hole in the place where your heart<br />

once beat.<br />

I’ll tell you, the hardest one for me<br />

was a small little blonde hair girl<br />

who quietly looked up at me as I<br />

gently moved her hair from in front of<br />

her eyes and she said, “I’m scared.” I’ll<br />

never forget her, and I’ll never forget<br />

that terrible, tragic scene. I suppose<br />

it’s fair to say, some cases are just<br />

harder on your heart and your mind<br />

than others.<br />

saw the face of anyone who once<br />

told him “I love you” as that same<br />

person that took his very life. I cannot<br />

imagine a worse scenario for that<br />

precious, innocent little boy. <strong>No</strong> one,<br />

I mean no one, should ever beat, torture,<br />

abuse or certainly take the life<br />

of a child.<br />

I’ve no doubt the Texas Rangers and<br />

the Officers from various agencies<br />

will do their absolute best to ensure<br />

some justice is afforded to little<br />

Samuel. That in some way, some<br />

semblance of peace can be afforded<br />

in the fact that whomever is responsible<br />

for Samuel’s death, pays for that<br />

senseless and terrible loss.<br />

From the first Houston Police Officer<br />

who responded to the original call, to<br />

the Jasper Officers and Rangers, the<br />

Crime Scene Technicians and all the<br />

others who have and are continuing<br />

to take part in piecing together this<br />

difficult series of events, you have my<br />

unwavering support and most sincere<br />

admiration. For I completely understand<br />

what you’re enduring and what<br />

you’re going to endure in the days,<br />

months and years to come.<br />

I can clearly see in the eyes of<br />

Houston Police Chief Troy Finner and<br />

Asst. Chief Heather Miller, the sincerity<br />

in their sorrow for Samuel, the<br />

innocent family members and everyone<br />

affected by this…. this act of<br />

what can only be described as “Evil.”<br />

I am certain these two and others in<br />

the Houston Police Department shall<br />

work tirelessly and steadfastly with<br />

the other law enforcement agencies<br />

involved to reconstruct the events<br />

which led us to where we are today.<br />

With regards to family violence<br />

overall, I’ll never fathom why some<br />

people feel it is somehow better to<br />

kill their spouse or significant other<br />

and then themselves, all so that their<br />

child(ren) are forced to watch, see,<br />

suffer and forevermore endure what<br />

REX EVANS<br />

they’ve done. What kind of “person”<br />

does that? What kind of “person”<br />

decides the lives of their child(ren)<br />

aren’t more valuable that their own?<br />

Thus, in a moment of rage and absolute<br />

stupidity, they take the lives of<br />

the other parent and themselves.<br />

I’ll wrap it up with this, no cop will<br />

ever forget those cases where a child<br />

dies. You just don’t. I can attest the<br />

same goes for all firefighters and EMS<br />

personnel. Right along with our communications<br />

personnel. For collectively,<br />

we hear, see, smell and endure<br />

everything everyone else in the world<br />

absolutely fears the most. A deceased<br />

son or daughter….a young, innocent<br />

child. Through no fault of their own,<br />

their lives are ripped apart and taken.<br />

I cannot really image a worse kind of<br />

case or moment in one’s career.<br />

For me, such cases even riveled<br />

the loss of partners and law enforcement<br />

officers. Even those I have<br />

known and worked with who died in<br />

the line of duty. I have no doubt the<br />

same applies to officers everywhere.<br />

I sincerely pray for all involved in<br />

such cases. I sincerely pray for all of<br />

us actually. For Samuel was not the<br />

first child killed and he will not be the<br />

last. Especially with our current “Judicial<br />

Bond Reform System” in place.<br />

It isn’t just failing us, our families, our<br />

communities. It’s costing and killing<br />

the very best and the most innocent<br />

of us all….our children.<br />

full page ad<br />

6 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 7


joe friday<br />

GUEST EDITORIAL<br />

Open Letter to the President<br />

I’m sending this editorial out to<br />

every media outlet in the US with<br />

the hopes that someone will<br />

print it. Unfortunately, I’m withholding<br />

my true identity as I’m<br />

quite sure my employer would<br />

terminate my employment immediately<br />

as we are forbidden<br />

from making any statements to<br />

the media.<br />

I have been a police officer<br />

for over 20 years. In my career,<br />

I’ve been shot, run over by a<br />

suspect’s vehicle, assaulted by<br />

suspects and suspects family<br />

members, spit at, bitten, nearly<br />

stabbed twice, and hospitalized<br />

three times. According to doctors,<br />

I died on the table three<br />

times but by the grace of God I’m<br />

still here.<br />

I watched people die, some in<br />

my arms. I’ve pulled dead babies<br />

from cars. I’ve jumped in lakes<br />

and swimming pools and pulled<br />

infants out who had drowned,<br />

but again by the grace of God I<br />

was able to bring them back to<br />

life. I tried to save a family of<br />

four, a mom and three babies<br />

that drove off a street into a lake<br />

and their car sank. I couldn’t get<br />

to them and they all died. I sat<br />

and watched as their car was<br />

pulled from the lake and saw the<br />

body of the mom holding her<br />

children in her arms, knowing<br />

full well they were about to die.<br />

I’ve held a mother in my arms<br />

as paramedics worked on her<br />

2-year-old baby girl that had<br />

been struck in the head by a<br />

stray bullet as she laid in her<br />

new “big girl” bed. She didn’t do<br />

anything to anybody, she was<br />

just a baby. The thugs who shot<br />

her mistook her house for the<br />

drug dealer’s house that had<br />

ripped them off. They were a<br />

block off. They got it right the<br />

next night and killed 4 people<br />

in the drug dealer’s house. The<br />

dealer, his mom, father, and<br />

grandfather. All dead. The baby<br />

girl died on the way to the hospital.<br />

I’ve had two partners get shot<br />

in front of me. I held one in my<br />

arms while he bled out. The<br />

other survived but spends his<br />

days in a wheelchair now instead<br />

of a patrol car. Hundreds of my<br />

brothers and sisters in Blue have<br />

died at the hands of thugs you<br />

say are mistreated by the police.<br />

Yes, they are bad cops that<br />

do bad things to people. They<br />

shouldn’t be cops. But there are<br />

bad doctors that make mistakes<br />

and kill people. Maybe it’s an<br />

accident, maybe they were careless.<br />

In every profession there<br />

are bad people. There are horrible<br />

politicians that shouldn’t be<br />

allowed to make laws that hurt<br />

people. People’s lives are destroyed<br />

every day by laws created<br />

in Washington and signed by<br />

you, Mr. President.<br />

You seem to hate and despise<br />

the uniform I wear. The uniform<br />

my brothers and sisters<br />

wear. You hate what I stand for<br />

and what they stand for. But yet<br />

every time you go somewhere,<br />

hundreds of my brothers and sisters<br />

in Blue are there to protect<br />

YOU. They risk their lives to make<br />

sure nothing happens to YOU. But<br />

yet you don’t respect them. Why?<br />

When a “person of color” as<br />

you call them is killed by the police,<br />

you are saddened, shocked<br />

by the death of an “innocent”<br />

man or woman. Did it ever<br />

occur to you that they weren’t<br />

innocent. They had to be doing<br />

something wrong. Cops just<br />

don’t drive around killing people<br />

for no reason. Yes, I agree that<br />

some cops have used excessive<br />

force that resulted in someone’s<br />

death and yes, they should be<br />

punished. They have shot people<br />

they thought were armed and<br />

weren’t and they have to answer<br />

for that. But those “bad cops” as<br />

you refer to them, are less than<br />

.003% of all the cops in the US.<br />

Don’t punish me for a few dozen<br />

“bad cops.”<br />

And please explain to me why<br />

you would invite the family of<br />

a convicted felon, George Floyd<br />

to the White House and honor<br />

them? Yes, their son died while<br />

in police custody. The police<br />

officer involved was tried and<br />

found guilty. They got a huge<br />

sum of money for his death. But<br />

did you ever ask how they treated<br />

their son BEFORE he was<br />

killed resisting arrest? I doubt it.<br />

They disowned him. Told him to<br />

stay away from his family. They<br />

caused him to move away from<br />

Houston and move to Minnesota.<br />

They only cared about him after<br />

he was killed, and they saw a<br />

huge payday. And YOU Mr. President,<br />

invited these greedy people<br />

to the White House?<br />

What about all the police officers<br />

that didn’t mistreat anyone<br />

and yet were killed in the line of<br />

duty? You dishonored them by<br />

not even lowering the flag during<br />

a week set aside to honor them<br />

for paying the ultimate sacrifice.<br />

They gave up their life for just<br />

doing their jobs. They didn’t hurt<br />

anyone. They didn’t kill anyone<br />

because of the color of their<br />

skin. They were heroes and you<br />

disrespected them, and you disrespected<br />

their families. Mothers,<br />

fathers, sons, daughters, brothers,<br />

sisters, aunts and uncles.<br />

You disrespected ALL OF THEM.<br />

While you pay tribute to a thug’s<br />

family for the death of a convicted<br />

felon. You make me sick.<br />

I have always, always respected<br />

the President and what he<br />

stands for. I didn’t like President<br />

Obama or his policies, but I never<br />

said, “He isn’t MY President.”<br />

It’s the office I respect not the<br />

person in it. But you sir, I have<br />

zero respect for. In my opinion<br />

you are a disgrace to the office<br />

and what it stands for. In fact,<br />

nearly everyone in your party,<br />

believes that police departments<br />

should be defunded, and police<br />

officers replaced by social workers,<br />

specifically working without<br />

guns. They believe, you believe<br />

that no one should ever be killed<br />

again no matter what they do.<br />

That not a single “person of color”<br />

should ever be killed at the<br />

hands of police ever again.<br />

But what you and your cohorts<br />

don’t understand, is that cops<br />

didn’t shoot and kill a “person<br />

or color” or anyone else for that<br />

matter because of the color of<br />

their skin, they were shot because<br />

they were breaking the<br />

law. They refused to lay down<br />

their guns when told to do so.<br />

They were threatening to do<br />

RED MARK USA<br />

Rescuing the Innocent<br />

harm to another human being.<br />

They got shot because they are<br />

BAD PEOPLE! Plain and simple. But<br />

that doesn’t serve your narrative.<br />

You want ALL guns removed from<br />

everyone. And as long as someone<br />

is getting shot, that just furthers<br />

your agenda.<br />

Let’s say for a moment, that every<br />

gun in the US was taken and destroyed.<br />

<strong>No</strong> one would have guns.<br />

<strong>No</strong>t the bad guys or the good guys.<br />

Do you think that people would<br />

stop killing one another? <strong>No</strong>!! They<br />

would use knives, swords, rocks,<br />

bottles, and whatever they could<br />

find to do harm against another<br />

person. People were killed long<br />

before there were guns. Since the<br />

dawn of time, people have killed<br />

each other. Your agenda is baseless,<br />

and you know it.<br />

I’ll close with this. You don’t<br />

deserve to be President and I will<br />

do everything in my power to get<br />

someone with respect and dignity<br />

elected to replace you.<br />

Houston Police officers, Harris County Sheriff’s deputies and deputy constables<br />

are imprisoned by a corrupt district attorney on trumped up charges. A<br />

progressive police chief investigates and fires officers by the dozens on spurious<br />

complaints.<br />

The USA is under the control of a leftist government. Anyone found in contempt<br />

of the new ideology has their bank accounts closed and locked. That’s<br />

the Red Mark.<br />

Left wing rioters burn and destroy churches, synagogues, mosques and temples.<br />

The First and Second amendments to the Constitution are declared null<br />

and void. Right wing insurrectionists plot to kidnap the mayor and city council.<br />

Corrupt and inept Department of Human Relations police abuse citizens and<br />

act like a new Gestapo.<br />

Dozens of police officers, sheriff’s deputies and constables are scheduled<br />

for execution by public hanging in front of an angry mob. It’s up to a group of<br />

officers and deputies to rescue them before they’re killed. Working in strictest<br />

secrecy, knowing that the discovery of their plot will mean prison and death,<br />

they work against time to rescue the innocent.<br />

Deacon Blue is a retired Houston Police Officer.<br />

Available on Amazon Kindle or paperback. $9.95<br />

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE<br />

8 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 9


ill gannon<br />

GUEST EDITORIAL<br />

Last Shift as a Cop<br />

Tonight, 5/10/<strong>2021</strong>, is Dustin’s<br />

last shift as a law enforcement<br />

officer. I can’t even believe I’m<br />

writing this.<br />

I know many of you who read<br />

this will be as shocked as I still<br />

am. Ever since we met 12 years<br />

ago, it was all he talked about.<br />

He was getting ready to enter<br />

the police academy in Michigan.<br />

It was his dream, the only thing<br />

he ever saw himself doing, the<br />

only thing he ever wanted to<br />

do. I had never seen a person<br />

so passionate about serving. He<br />

dreamed of climbing the ranks,<br />

an illustrious 30-year career.<br />

What happened???<br />

Nine years of working weekends,<br />

nights, holidays, and everything<br />

in between. Sometimes<br />

serving a 12, 13, 14 or more-hour<br />

shift without a drink of water, a<br />

meal, or even a bathroom break.<br />

Missing dinners, birthdays,<br />

anniversaries, Christmas, school<br />

events, funerals, even his own<br />

brother’s wedding. Every shift<br />

we, his family, hugged and<br />

kissed him goodbye, praying for<br />

his safe return. Sending him out<br />

into unknown danger to protect<br />

you and your family.<br />

My officer, and all those who<br />

serve, would lay down their life<br />

for yours in a heartbeat. For you,<br />

a complete stranger. Whether<br />

you hate them or not. Without<br />

even taking notice of your race,<br />

gender, age, or any way you<br />

identify. Unless you have served,<br />

you cannot possibly understand<br />

the sacrifice.<br />

The physical and emotional<br />

trauma. Bearing witness to the<br />

darkest side of humanity. Seeing<br />

things you couldn’t even imagine<br />

in your worst nightmares. All<br />

while being hated, cursed, spat<br />

on, punched, assaulted, and have<br />

others try to end your life simply<br />

because you wear the badge.<br />

Seeing your brothers and sisters<br />

make the ultimate sacrifice.<br />

As law enforcement families,<br />

these are the realities we live<br />

every single day. I just thought<br />

life would always be like this. But<br />

when you see your officer’s passion,<br />

and the good work cops do,<br />

most of which goes unnoticed,<br />

you understand the sacrifice. You,<br />

yourself, become a part of the<br />

sacrifice.<br />

To be a police officer is to be<br />

under appreciated and misunderstood.<br />

To be criticized by the<br />

media and the public, your every<br />

move under surveillance. To be<br />

vilified for doing what is right<br />

and just. To be expected to be<br />

robotic, emotionless, and without<br />

error.<br />

Hold our public servants to<br />

the highest standard of conduct,<br />

yes. But don’t demonize an entire<br />

profession because of the abhorrent<br />

acts of a despicable few.<br />

Police officers are human, yes,<br />

just like you. And they are not<br />

immune to error.<br />

Those who willfully do harm<br />

are a disgrace to law enforcement<br />

and should never have had<br />

the honor and privilege of wearing<br />

the badge.<br />

Ask any officer and they will<br />

agree vehemently. To the coward<br />

hiding behind your keyboard -<br />

you swallow all of the divisive<br />

garbage the media feeds you<br />

without a second thought. You<br />

aren’t qualified to tell law enforcement<br />

that they are undertrained<br />

and overfunded.<br />

You have no idea how many<br />

hours upon hours of training are<br />

required to do the job. You’re not<br />

an expert on criminal justice or<br />

the law. You’re doing more harm<br />

than good. You robbed my officer<br />

of his passion. The fire in him<br />

died.<br />

He was an exemplary officer,<br />

the kind every department<br />

needs, and everyone wants on<br />

their team. The one every person<br />

in need prays will answer their<br />

call. But the hatred, the fear, and<br />

the sacrifice… it just isn’t worth<br />

it anymore. Stop casting police<br />

officers as the scapegoat for<br />

societal problems.<br />

You can be black, white,<br />

brown, yellow, purple or green<br />

and support law enforcement.<br />

You can be liberal, conservative,<br />

or apolitical and support<br />

law enforcement. You can be<br />

religious, atheist, or anything in<br />

between and support law enforcement.<br />

You can be antiracist and<br />

support law enforcement. You<br />

can support law enforcement<br />

and stand for what is right and<br />

just and good. You can do all of<br />

these things. Stop making it “us”<br />

versus “them.”<br />

Stop making us choose sides.<br />

Stop polarizing everything. By<br />

painting all officers with the<br />

same brush, you are perpetrating<br />

the very prejudice that you claim<br />

to be against.<br />

And you are fostering a dangerous<br />

society plagued by fear<br />

and distrust. If you think law enforcement<br />

needs a change, why<br />

don’t you submit an application<br />

and actually be the change?<br />

Any coward can sit behind his<br />

keyboard and criticize. Talk is<br />

cheap. Is it because you know<br />

you can’t hold a candle to the<br />

men and women of law enforcement?<br />

Is it because you know<br />

you don’t have what it takes? It<br />

takes a special person to make<br />

the sacrifice that officers make<br />

every single day.<br />

Departments everywhere are<br />

DEAR POLICE1 MEMBER<br />

Over the past year, officers and<br />

their families have faced some of<br />

the biggest challenges that have<br />

ever confronted law enforcement.<br />

Following the terrible and tragic<br />

death of George Floyd, LEOs<br />

experienced a backlash of anger,<br />

protests, political opposition and<br />

defunding that rocked policing<br />

to its core. All of this came amid<br />

the worst global pandemic in a<br />

century, a direct and dire threat<br />

to those serving on the front lines,<br />

and we still do not know how<br />

many of our officers and their<br />

family members have been killed<br />

by COVID-19.<br />

Being an officer has never been<br />

more difficult or demanding and<br />

for many who serve, this has<br />

hiring. Officers are walking away<br />

in record numbers. But this is<br />

what you wanted, isn’t it?<br />

Instead of departments raising<br />

their standards, they’re now<br />

having to lower them because<br />

they are overworked and understaffed.<br />

Does that make you feel<br />

safer? Isn’t that what you wanted?<br />

Abolish the police?<br />

I hope you’re happy. I hope<br />

you feel safe. If you support our<br />

faithful law enforcement officers<br />

everywhere, now is the time to<br />

speak up.<br />

The profession is in trouble,<br />

and your support is needed now<br />

more than ever. Thank you to<br />

everyone who has supported our<br />

officer over the years.<br />

Your support means more than<br />

you will ever know. To those<br />

who continue to serve every day<br />

resulted in a deprioritizing of<br />

personal wellness. However, it<br />

has never been more important to<br />

keep your heart, mind and body fit.<br />

Officer wellness is key to doing all<br />

we can to help improve community<br />

relations and officer retention<br />

and recruitment as we look<br />

toward the future.<br />

Society outsources the most difficult<br />

challenges to law enforcement,<br />

and it’s only fair that officers<br />

have high-quality support when<br />

facing their own challenges. Take<br />

good care of yourself and your<br />

fellow officers. Surround yourself<br />

with good people who support<br />

you. Talk with peer support. Connect<br />

with a high-quality, culturally<br />

competent therapist. Do your part<br />

to help smash the stigma that<br />

despite the adversity the profession<br />

faces, we see you.<br />

And we will continue to support<br />

you. We see your sacrifice,<br />

your courage, your selflessness,<br />

and strength. Hold the line. Honey,<br />

we are proud of you beyond<br />

words.<br />

The time you served and the<br />

countless sacrifices you made<br />

will never be in vain. You made<br />

our corner of the world a better<br />

place for the people you helped<br />

and the lives you touched. We’ll<br />

support you every step of the<br />

way you as you transition to the<br />

next chapter and crush your new<br />

goals.<br />

To honor your career, I’m sharing<br />

some photos from your years<br />

of service. We love you so much,<br />

Officer D. C. Harris.<br />

Thank you for being ours.<br />

makes it so difficult for so many in<br />

the profession to seek help.<br />

We thank you for your service,<br />

your sacrifices and all you have<br />

done to keep our communities<br />

safe during the past year.<br />

Stay safe,<br />

DR. DAVID BLACK, FOUNDER<br />

AND CEO OF CORDICO<br />

WHAT’S UP WITH ROSEN?<br />

With regards to the series of<br />

troubling events at the Harris<br />

County Pct. 1 Constable’s Office, I<br />

got to tell you, I wonder what in<br />

the world is going on over there.<br />

What was/is he (Constable Rosen)<br />

thinking? Especially now that he<br />

has had such a steak of bad employees<br />

doing bad things.<br />

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10 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 11


*CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE<br />

Why did he fire the deputies so<br />

fast and yet when his supervisors<br />

(a Chief and a Lieutenant) make<br />

not only National News but Worldwide<br />

news…he lets them continue<br />

to serve in those critical roles?<br />

How in the world do promotions in<br />

that department even work? Are<br />

there promotional exams? Interviews?<br />

Review board? Anything?<br />

<strong>No</strong>thing? How in the world do<br />

supervisors become supervisors in<br />

that department?<br />

One cannot discount the good in<br />

the community Constable Rosen<br />

has done. He has been an innovative<br />

leader in the law enforcement<br />

community with regards to helping<br />

those who reside in precinct<br />

one. He has helped many people<br />

who otherwise have been completely<br />

forgotten by society and<br />

other political leaders in Harris<br />

County, Texas.<br />

Yet all the hard work and long<br />

hours of work done in the service<br />

of others has been completely<br />

dismantled in the matter of one<br />

months’ time and has called into<br />

question the very existence of his<br />

Office. If supervisors at Pct. 1 have<br />

not been vetted in some fashion<br />

(like I mentioned above) why in<br />

God’s name are they supervisors?!?!?!<br />

They absolutely should<br />

NOT be in those roles, unless they<br />

have at the bare minimum been<br />

through some kind of Promotional<br />

Assessment Process. We all<br />

know being a good cop doesn’t<br />

make you a good supervisor. Case<br />

and point, the latest tragic incident<br />

whereby an Asst. Chief and<br />

a Lieutenant are both accused of<br />

some poor decision making and<br />

wrongdoing.<br />

Again, to be totally fair, you cannot<br />

help but allow for all the good<br />

Rosen has done. He certainly has<br />

helped a LOT of people. But somewhere<br />

along the line, something<br />

has gone terribly wrong. And now<br />

a lot of people are paying a steep<br />

price for it.<br />

I don’t work at Pct. 1, but I certainly<br />

know a lot of people who<br />

do. I can tell you from the outside<br />

looking in, a lot of folks over there<br />

are sad, frustrated and upset. Morale<br />

has plummeted sharply which<br />

is not good for any organization.<br />

I don’t have a dog in the hunt as<br />

the old saying goes. But what has<br />

happened at Pct. 1 affects all the<br />

personnel there and of course<br />

vicariously, cops all across Harris<br />

County. This series of arrests,<br />

terminations, a suicide during<br />

a SWAT standoff by a Sergeant<br />

and now a huge lawsuit by three<br />

former employees, would make<br />

anyone ask …”What in the hell is<br />

going on over there and what is<br />

Rosen doing about it?”<br />

I hate seeing so many people<br />

that work there hurt. I hate what<br />

you’re going through and what<br />

you’re going to go through. It<br />

sucks. Hopefully, Constable Rosen<br />

will demonstrate his ability<br />

to help others can be applied to<br />

his own department and he will<br />

come through for all of you. And<br />

at the same time, come through<br />

for all of us in Harris County Law<br />

Enforcement.<br />

NOT SIGNED<br />

WHITE HOUSE SH*T SHOW<br />

What in the hell is going on<br />

in Washington, specifically the<br />

White House? Our last President<br />

hosted real heroes like wounded<br />

soldiers and wounded police<br />

officers. He invited the widows of<br />

fallen officers and grieved with<br />

him. Hugged them and told them<br />

how proud they should be of their<br />

wife, husband, son or daughter.<br />

How proud HE was of them.<br />

Yes, The President of the United<br />

States was proud of them for their<br />

service to their country and the<br />

citizens they swore to protect.<br />

And every single time a man<br />

or woman was killed in the line<br />

of duty, President Trump called<br />

the family to express his deepest<br />

condolences. Trump cared about<br />

each and every person who wore<br />

a uniform. Before and after every<br />

flight in Air Force One, he shook<br />

the hand of every first responder<br />

that was there to protect him.<br />

<strong>No</strong> matter how much of a hurry<br />

everyone else was in, this was his<br />

number one priority.<br />

The Vice President once stopped<br />

his motorcade when a motor officer<br />

went down, and Vice President<br />

Pence got out and rendered aide<br />

to the injured officer. He called<br />

him the following day to make<br />

sure he was OK. These are men<br />

you can be proud of.<br />

These asshats in the Oval Office<br />

now are an embarrassment to<br />

themselves and the country. They<br />

could care less about anyone in<br />

uniform. Much like the Obama’s,<br />

they are care more about the<br />

crooks then the men and women<br />

in Blue. Trump lighted the Whitehouse<br />

in Blue when an officer was<br />

killed. Biden refused to even lower<br />

the flags during Police Week.<br />

Obama painted the Whitehouse in<br />

Rainbow colors for LBGTQ folks,<br />

but never once honored cops or<br />

servicemen.<br />

I can’t for the life of me understand<br />

why the hate law enforcement.<br />

After all they are surrounded<br />

by dozens of them every day<br />

protecting their worthless asses.<br />

You’d think they’d have some kind<br />

of bond with them. NOPE! Maybe<br />

it’s because we carry guns, and<br />

they HATE guns. Whatever the reason,<br />

I’m done with these clowns.<br />

If you care about your country,<br />

I suggest we start campaigning<br />

right now to get these idiots out<br />

of office. If not, you aren’t going to<br />

have much of a country left.<br />

Since January 1, 23 police officers<br />

have been feloniously shot<br />

to death, a 28% increase over the<br />

same period last year. Number of<br />

deceased officers’ families invited<br />

to the White House? Zero. Number<br />

of families of longtime drug users<br />

with heart conditions who died<br />

in police custody invited to the<br />

White House? Well, at least one.<br />

In her daily propaganda briefing<br />

Friday, White House propaganda<br />

minister Jen Psaki refused to offer<br />

any details as to how Biden plans<br />

on commemorating the one-year<br />

anniversary of Floyd’s death on<br />

Tuesday, May 25, the New York<br />

Post reported.<br />

However, on Sunday, CNBC reported<br />

that the family of George<br />

Floyd was going to be hosted at<br />

the White House on Tuesday, the<br />

one-year anniversary of Floyd’s<br />

death while being arrested for a<br />

passing a counterfeit bill in Minneapolis.<br />

“The visit marks the one-year<br />

anniversary of Floyd’s death,<br />

which triggered international<br />

protests against police brutality<br />

and racism in the criminal justice<br />

system,” CNBC reported.<br />

Unless you’ve been living under<br />

a rock, it’s common knowledge<br />

that Floyd was taken into custody,<br />

and as he was having a meltdown<br />

in the back of a Minneapolis<br />

police cruiser, complaining he<br />

couldn’t breathe, he was removed<br />

from the car and placed in a prone<br />

position on the ground.<br />

For around nine minutes, former<br />

Minneapolis police officer Derek<br />

Chauvin kneeled on the area of<br />

Floyd’s neck, although some evidence<br />

presented at Chauvin’s trial<br />

seemed to indicate it was in fact<br />

the area of his shoulders.<br />

Be that as it may, Chauvin was<br />

convicted on all three charges, although<br />

there is plenty of room for<br />

appeal. First of all, the trial judge<br />

refused to move the trial from<br />

Minneapolis to another venue, as<br />

requested by Chauvin’s defense<br />

team. Secondly, the same judge<br />

refused to sequester the jury.<br />

Third, crazy Maxine Waters<br />

(D-CA) threatened more violent<br />

riots if the jury didn’t find Chauvin<br />

guilty.<br />

And finally, one of the jurors lied<br />

during jury selection, claiming<br />

he “didn’t know much” about the<br />

case when in fact he is a Black<br />

Lives Matter activist.<br />

It’s unknown how Biden will<br />

commemorate the one-year anniversary<br />

of Floyd’s death. However,<br />

it’s pretty much a certainty it will<br />

involve a lot of police bashing,<br />

railing about police officers hunting<br />

down black and brown people<br />

for the purposes of killing them,<br />

and talking about how much<br />

America sucks as a “systemically<br />

racist” country. This despite the<br />

fact that people are crossing our<br />

border in the tens of thousands for<br />

the opportunity to come to Amer-<br />

ica and be “oppressed” by the evil<br />

white people.<br />

Floyd’s death of course sparked<br />

months of destructive riots across<br />

the country, nearly all of which<br />

were excused by Democrats<br />

including Biden. It wasn’t until<br />

Biden’s poll numbers started to<br />

fall as weeks turned into months<br />

of violent riots that he made a<br />

tepid condemnation of them.<br />

Democrats seized upon Floyd’s<br />

death to push for sweeping criminal<br />

justice “reforms” including<br />

banning chokeholds, federalizing<br />

training standards, ending qualified<br />

immunity for police officers<br />

and a number of other anti-police<br />

policies.<br />

The proposed bill, the “George<br />

Floyd Justice in Policing Act”<br />

would be the first federal bill<br />

named after a drug addict and<br />

Biden had hoped to get it passed<br />

by the one-year anniversary of<br />

Floyd’s death. That however appears<br />

very unlikely as the legislation<br />

is currently stalled in Congress.<br />

The Daily Wire reported that<br />

Biden has been in touch with<br />

Floyd’s family for a while, having<br />

spoken with them both before and<br />

after the Chauvin verdict came<br />

down.<br />

Biden had pledged last month<br />

during an address to a joint session<br />

of Congress that the Senate<br />

would pass the police reform bill<br />

by May 25, however Congressional<br />

sources told Politico that the<br />

White House no longer believes<br />

that will be possible, as they are<br />

waiting for a compromise bill to<br />

come out of Congress.<br />

We’ll keep waiting to see when<br />

the family of a murdered police<br />

officer is invited to Biden’s White<br />

House. We won’t hold our breath.<br />

ED DANIELS<br />

12 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 13


Former Deputies File Federal Lawsuit<br />

HCCO Asst. Chief Sets Up Massage<br />

Parlor Sting, Gets Deputy Raped<br />

HOUSTON ‐ Harris County Constable<br />

Assistant Chief Chris Gore,<br />

Harris County Constable Alan Rosen,<br />

and Lt. Shane Rigdon are the<br />

target of a Federal lawsuit and are<br />

accused of sexual harassment and<br />

battery, violation of equal protection<br />

and retaliation against former<br />

deputies of the department.<br />

The suit alleges the Chief placed<br />

a female deputy undercover into<br />

massage parlor to be raped by<br />

known sex offender and forced<br />

others to wear provocative clothes<br />

as he lay on top of them fully<br />

aroused in sting operations.<br />

The former deputies, Liz Gomez,<br />

Marissa Sanchez, Felecia McKinney<br />

and Jacqueline Aluotto, an anti sex<br />

trafficking activist, filed the federal<br />

lawsuit together against the three<br />

officers as well as Harris County.<br />

The 40-page lawsuit alleges<br />

Rosen’s office set up undercover<br />

sex trafficking sting operations,<br />

which served as pretext for alcohol-fueled<br />

parties. The female<br />

deputies were allegedly ordered<br />

to dress in skimpy outfits and<br />

were fondled and licked by Gore.<br />

McKinney was allegedly sent to<br />

a massage parlor to be raped by<br />

a known sex offender before she<br />

could signal her colleagues to<br />

arrest him. Gomez and Sanchez<br />

claimed Gore groped them and<br />

laid on top of them while he was<br />

aroused during the stings.<br />

Perhaps some of the most<br />

shocking allegations detailed in<br />

the complaint are related to McKinney,<br />

a young deputy with no undercover<br />

training who is described<br />

in the lawsuit as “the sacrificial<br />

lamb.”<br />

According to the court filing that<br />

was printed in the Houston Chronicle,<br />

in August of 2019, McKinney<br />

was sent during an undercover<br />

vice squad-style operation to a<br />

massage parlor where she was<br />

raped by a known sexual offender,<br />

who had previously sexually<br />

assaulted Constable Rosen’s own<br />

chief of staff, before she could<br />

give a signal to her colleagues to<br />

move in and arrest the suspect.<br />

McKinney was ordered to make<br />

an appointment at the establishment<br />

with the known sexual<br />

offender, the complaint reads. “At<br />

said appointment she was, unsurprisingly,<br />

penetrated in both her<br />

vagina and anus by the same individual<br />

who had only days before<br />

assaulted the chief of staff.<br />

“McKinney was forced to allow<br />

this to happen as she was ordered<br />

to do by her superiors,” the lawsuit<br />

alleges, noting that the constable<br />

offices allowed the deputy<br />

to be led to the alleged rapist<br />

“like a lamb to the slaughter, even<br />

though there was already sufficient<br />

evidence to make an arrest<br />

prior to exposing McKinney to this<br />

trauma.”<br />

After the raid, McKinney was “all<br />

but ignored” by her superiors and<br />

had to drive herself to a sexual<br />

assault exam. The complaint<br />

alleges that Rosen’s office set up<br />

undercover “bachelor party” sting<br />

operations that were designed to<br />

arrest sex trafficking suspects.<br />

But those operations turned<br />

more into parties where officers<br />

drank heavily and the female deputies,<br />

who were given little to no<br />

training in undercover work, were<br />

fondled and kissed by their supervisory<br />

officer, or were told to give<br />

lap dances to other male deputies.<br />

Young female deputies [who]<br />

were handpicked for “undercover<br />

operations” under the guise<br />

of legitimate police work were<br />

molested and traumatized by their<br />

intoxicated male commanding<br />

officers for their own sexual gratification,<br />

the lawsuit alleges. “What<br />

began as an idea for “bachelor<br />

party” prostitution stings soon<br />

grew into a booze-fueled playground<br />

for sexual exploitation in<br />

which young, untrained deputies<br />

were subject to disgusting abuse.”<br />

The lawsuit accuses the defendants<br />

of sexual harassment,<br />

sexual battery, violation of equal<br />

protection and retaliation.<br />

Cord Akers, one of the attorneys<br />

for the women, called the allegations<br />

“Some of the most unspeakable<br />

sexual police misconduct<br />

that any of us have ever seen.”<br />

According to the court documents,<br />

Liz Gomez, the lead plaintiff in the<br />

federal lawsuit, was hand-picked<br />

by Gore for undercover operations,<br />

despite her lack of training. The<br />

deputy claims that she was “Continuously<br />

subjected to sexual harassment,<br />

unwarranted touching,<br />

unwanted kissing, molestation,<br />

and sexual ridicule.”<br />

The complaint alleges that Gore<br />

instructed Gomez to purchase<br />

skimpy outfits to be worn during<br />

the ‘bachelor party’ stings, and<br />

send photos of the clothing to him<br />

while shopping. Gore would relay<br />

the message “That’s not slutty<br />

enough” while Gomez was trying<br />

on the clothing at the store, and<br />

was ordered to purchase something<br />

more provocative, the lawsuit<br />

alleges.<br />

Gore also allegedly took Gomez<br />

to an adult store with him to<br />

purchase sex toys as props with<br />

county funds. ‘After picking up<br />

a product labeled “c*** sleeve,”<br />

Chief Gore commented to the<br />

young female deputy “Oh I bet you<br />

would like this,” the complaint<br />

states. He also instructed Gomez<br />

to purchase dildos and to “pick<br />

out the ones you would personally<br />

prefer.”<br />

After that shopping trip, Gore<br />

allegedly told Gomez that she<br />

was not allowed to work with any<br />

14 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 15<br />

*NEXT PAGE


other male deputy because she<br />

was “his.” The complaint claims<br />

that during the undercover ‘bachelor<br />

party’ stings, female deputies<br />

like Gomez were ordered to allow<br />

Chief Gore to lie on top of them<br />

and fondle their breasts and bodies<br />

to ‘maintain cover.’<br />

They were never warned, however,<br />

that during this conduct<br />

Chief Gore would be wearing<br />

only boxer shorts, fully aroused,<br />

drunk, kissing and licking their<br />

bodies, and giddy after every<br />

sting, according to the lawsuit.<br />

The operations routinely involved<br />

excessive consumption of alcohol,<br />

with male supervisors allegedly<br />

pressuring female deputies to take<br />

shots.<br />

Gore would tell the female<br />

deputies to “drink up,” “get loose,”<br />

and that it was time to “start the<br />

party,” according to the lawsuit.<br />

After her first two undercover<br />

operations, Gomez asked to be<br />

removed from the team. After ridicule<br />

and denigration, her request<br />

was reluctantly granted, and<br />

she was subjected to continuous<br />

harassment from her superiors<br />

for “not having what it takes,” the<br />

lawsuit states.<br />

Gomez’s replacement on the<br />

team, Sanchez, was also handpicked<br />

by Gore to be ‘his girl,’<br />

despite being a rookie with no<br />

training in undercover work, the<br />

lawsuit alleges. Like her predecessor,<br />

Sanchez was also instructed<br />

to dress in revealing clothing, and<br />

she was told that she may need to<br />

get naked and give her male colleagues<br />

a lap dance during a sting<br />

operation.<br />

As the first suspects arrived and<br />

the sting began, Chief Gore immediately<br />

took off Sanchez’s bra<br />

without warning and for no real<br />

reason. He then threw her bra<br />

across the room, the complaint<br />

states. ...While her breasts and<br />

naked body were exposed due<br />

to Chief Gore’s actions, he would<br />

continuously laugh, even after the<br />

undercover operation ended.<br />

Similarly to Gomez, Sanchez<br />

claimed that her drunken boss<br />

would lie on top or under her,<br />

“where she could feel his arousal,”<br />

and would begin kissing and<br />

licking her neck and chest. When<br />

Sanchez tried to complain to Rosen<br />

about Gore’s conduct, she was<br />

transferred out of the unit to less<br />

prestigious duties. The lawsuit alleges<br />

Rosen and the Harris County<br />

District Attorney´s Office were<br />

told about what was happening<br />

by a victims’ advocate working<br />

with the human trafficking unit,<br />

but they took no action.<br />

“We need to end corruption and<br />

(complicity) in people in power,”<br />

Jacquelyn Aluotto, the victims´<br />

advocate and who filed the lawsuit<br />

along with the deputies, said at a<br />

news conference. Aluotto alleges<br />

she was essentially fired as her<br />

hours were cut to zero after she<br />

told authorities what happened to<br />

the deputies.<br />

“In this matter, our sex crimes<br />

division quickly asked Constable<br />

Pct. 1 Internal Affairs to investigate<br />

whether there was evidence of a<br />

crime and Ms. Aluotto has stated<br />

she contacted the Texas Rangers.<br />

<strong>No</strong>thing has been presented to<br />

prosecutors by either agency,” said<br />

Dane Schiller, a spokesman for the<br />

Harris County District Attorney´s<br />

Office.<br />

Constable Rosen released the<br />

following statement after news of<br />

the lawsuit went public:<br />

“When we were made aware of<br />

a concern by a third party several<br />

months ago, I proactively instructed<br />

our Internal Affairs Division to<br />

conduct an investigation. We did<br />

this even though no one made a<br />

formal complaint. This is consistent<br />

with our ongoing commitment<br />

to protecting victims and our<br />

personnel. My sensitivity toward<br />

victims remains our highest priority.”<br />

To this day, not one of these<br />

plaintiffs has ever made a formal<br />

complaint. Each employee interviewed<br />

was given the opportunity,<br />

in a safe environment, to express<br />

any concerns. Their own interview<br />

statements contradict many<br />

of the allegations in the lawsuit.<br />

Upon conclusion of our internal<br />

investigation, our Administrative<br />

Disciplinary Committee found no<br />

violations of law or policy.<br />

When we began our proactive<br />

internal investigation, we immediately<br />

transferred leadership of the<br />

Human Trafficking Unit to another<br />

supervisor who still maintains<br />

oversight of that unit today.<br />

VICTIM’S VOICES MATTER. I have<br />

a zero-tolerance stance against<br />

sexual assault and sexual harassment<br />

and would never allow<br />

a hostile work environment as<br />

alleged. This lawsuit is an effort<br />

to impugn the good reputation of<br />

the hard-working men and women<br />

of the Precinct One Constable’s<br />

Office. I believe our system of due<br />

process works and that justice and<br />

truth will prevail as facts in this<br />

case come to light. We will have<br />

no further comment today on this<br />

matter.<br />

UPDATE – As we went to press,<br />

another female deputy came<br />

forward with sexual misconduct<br />

allegations against the Harris<br />

County Precinct 1 Constable’s<br />

Office.<br />

The female deputy shared<br />

her story in a news conference<br />

Wednesday June 2.<br />

Her attorney says her commander<br />

repeatedly touched her<br />

and fondled her during an undercover<br />

operation, and she was<br />

instructed to let him do so.<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

16 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 17


18 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 19


League City to Hold Teen Police Academy<br />

High school<br />

students are<br />

invited to join<br />

the men and<br />

women of the<br />

League City<br />

Police Department<br />

to explore<br />

a career in law<br />

enforcement.<br />

Students will<br />

experience a<br />

“behind the<br />

badge” view<br />

of core police<br />

functions and<br />

what it takes to<br />

become a police<br />

officer. The<br />

Teen Academy<br />

consists of a<br />

series of classes<br />

and handson<br />

activities<br />

designed to give the cadets<br />

a working knowledge of our<br />

police department.<br />

The Teen Academy is open<br />

to teens 14 to 18 years of age<br />

who reside in League City or<br />

attend a League City public<br />

or private school, including<br />

those who are home schooled<br />

in League City. The academy<br />

is free of charge and space<br />

is limited. The academy is<br />

scheduled for Monday July<br />

19th through Friday July 23rd<br />

from 8AM to 5PM. Must apply<br />

by July 2nd.<br />

Cadets will learn about:<br />

• Patrol Procedures<br />

• Crime Scene Investigation<br />

• Criminal Law<br />

• Firearms Safety<br />

• Traffic Stops<br />

• Positive Team Building Activities<br />

and More<br />

Applications are available in<br />

the LCPD front lobby desk.<br />

For more information, contact<br />

LCPD Community Outreach<br />

Officer<br />

Todd Young: 281-554-1848 /<br />

todd.young@lcpd.com<br />

This is an excellent opportunity<br />

for teens ages 14-18 years.<br />

Those that have gone through<br />

it really enjoyed what they got<br />

to learn about from classroom<br />

to hands on. Mark your calendars<br />

before you start making<br />

summer plans!<br />

In honor of Memorial Day, our<br />

team members visited the Houston<br />

National Cemetery to place<br />

839 American flags on the graves<br />

of past service members and to<br />

pay our respects to our fallen<br />

heroes. We solemnly unite in<br />

remembrance and appreciation<br />

of those who gave their lives for<br />

our nation.<br />

It was an important reminder<br />

of the neighbors and loved ones<br />

we’ve lost and a moment to<br />

salute their legacy and ultimate<br />

sacrifice. We paused to reflect<br />

on the distinguished history of<br />

our armed forces and the battles<br />

– even those well beyond war –<br />

our country’s veterans endured<br />

for the opportunities we have<br />

today.<br />

As a tribute to the fallen service<br />

men and women and their<br />

families across our communities,<br />

a bugler from the Sherriff’s<br />

Office Honor Guard sounded the<br />

moving music of Taps, a solemn<br />

and emotional signal of mourning<br />

and what Memorial Day is all<br />

about.<br />

Houston has one of the largest<br />

veteran populations in the<br />

nation, with more than 300,000<br />

military veterans calling our<br />

community home. Veterans are<br />

our neighbors, our colleagues,<br />

and our leaders. They represent<br />

and embody everything<br />

we should aspire to be – resilient<br />

and service-minded. Their<br />

stories and experiences inspire<br />

others to give back with pride.<br />

At the Sheriff’s Office, we also<br />

honor the many military veterans<br />

in our agency who continue to<br />

serve their communities. Veterans<br />

are represented in various roles,<br />

sworn and civilian, and at all<br />

levels of the agency. We benefit<br />

greatly from their wealth of experience<br />

and commitment to teamwork<br />

and serving others.<br />

We empower our veterans and<br />

foster a supportive culture for<br />

them. Our Office of Military Relations<br />

provides a wide range of<br />

support to our team members<br />

who are current military service<br />

members and veterans, as well<br />

as those in our larger community<br />

who served their country.<br />

As an agency, we’re always<br />

searching for ways to better<br />

support those who served, implementing<br />

department policies,<br />

procedures, and programs that<br />

equip them with a strong support<br />

system and a holistic approach to<br />

meeting their needs. Every veteran<br />

receives a welcome packet from<br />

our Office of Military Relations<br />

with valuable agency resources<br />

and contacts that will help<br />

them fulfill their military service<br />

or make their transition easier.<br />

We also work collaboratively<br />

with community partners, such<br />

as Combined Arms and the Travis<br />

Manion Foundation, to facilitate<br />

access to additional services. If<br />

you’re looking to make a difference,<br />

learn more about our career<br />

opportunities here. We’re grateful<br />

for the veterans in our ranks and<br />

their countless contributions to<br />

the Sheriff’s Office.<br />

This Memorial Day weekend,<br />

and all year long, we celebrate our<br />

country’s true heroes who have<br />

fought and sacrificed for our liberty<br />

and freedom. We owe them<br />

an enduring debt of gratitude.<br />

God bless you, and God bless<br />

the Sheriff’s Office.<br />

20 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 21


Despite objections from Police Groups, Constitutional Carry about to<br />

become law. Anyone over 21 can carry a handgun without a permit.<br />

HB 1927, known as “Constitutional Carry Bill”<br />

on the Way to Governor’s Desk for Signature<br />

Texas is now one small, inevitable<br />

step away from becoming the largest<br />

state in the U.S. to allow anyone<br />

21 and up to carry a handgun in<br />

public without a permit.<br />

Just after midnight on Monday<br />

May 24th, the Texas House put the<br />

finishing touches on the so-called<br />

constitutional carry legislation<br />

that now moves to the Senate for a<br />

nearly guaranteed vote to ship it to<br />

Gov. Greg Abbott who has already<br />

declared he will sign it into law.<br />

“Ultimately this bill restores a<br />

right to Texans that, to my knowledge,<br />

has not existed prior to 1871,”<br />

State Rep. Matt Shaefer, R-Tyler,<br />

said moments before the House voted<br />

82-62 to pass House Bill 1927.<br />

Republican supporters like<br />

Shaefer say the U.S. Constitution<br />

guarantees Americans the right<br />

to have guns. But he said the state<br />

over the decades has put barriers<br />

in place for gun owners, namely<br />

a license-to-carry permit process<br />

that requires handgun owners to<br />

go through safety training and pay<br />

a $40 fee. While gun advocates say<br />

they aren’t against safety courses, it<br />

should be voluntary and not mandatory.<br />

Both the House and Senate had<br />

previously passed versions of the<br />

permitless carry legislation, but<br />

differences between the versions<br />

forced a series of closed-door<br />

negotiating sessions to work out a<br />

compromise.<br />

Schaefer said the House had to<br />

give up some key provisions, but he<br />

said, “Ultimately we came out with<br />

a bill that is strong and no doubt<br />

is the strongest restoration of 2nd<br />

Amendment rights that any of us<br />

has ever seen in the history of the<br />

state of Texas.”<br />

About 20 other states have adopted<br />

such laws; Texas would be by far<br />

the largest.<br />

Democrats including State Rep.<br />

Chris Turner, D-Grand Prairie,<br />

condemned the legislation, recalling<br />

mass shootings in El Paso and<br />

Odessa-Midland in 2019. Instead of<br />

addressing the epidemic of mass<br />

shootings, Turner said Republicans<br />

are only putting more guns on the<br />

street in the hands of untrained<br />

people.<br />

Abbott has left no doubt that he’ll<br />

sign the bill when it gets to him.<br />

Last month the governor tweeted:<br />

“Constitutional carry is moving in<br />

the #txlege. The strongest Second<br />

Amendment legislation in Texas<br />

history. Let’s get it to my desk for<br />

signing.”<br />

The bill had nearly died in March<br />

under the weight of opposition<br />

from law enforcement, and its rise<br />

is another reminder of the dramatic<br />

turns that happen during the state’s<br />

once every two-year legislative session.<br />

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Republican<br />

who oversees the Senate, had<br />

signaled early on that there weren’t<br />

enough yes-votes in that chamber<br />

to pass it.<br />

But over the weeks, the Senate<br />

added amendments to toughen<br />

penalties on felons who get caught<br />

carrying a gun illegally and bar<br />

people with convictions for domestic<br />

violence or making terroristic<br />

threats from openly carrying guns<br />

in public.<br />

Schaefer said he fought behind<br />

the scenes to strip off one of the<br />

amendments that was aimed at<br />

stopping police from disarming a<br />

person for officer safety purposes.<br />

Police officials were adamant that<br />

they needed the discretion to disarm<br />

people they come in contact with,<br />

even if only temporarily.<br />

But Schaefer said he was able<br />

to keep a provision in the bill that<br />

expunges people’s past convictions<br />

for carrying a gun without a<br />

license-to-carry permit, since that<br />

will not be a crime in Texas starting<br />

September 1, <strong>2021</strong> when the bill is<br />

expected to take effect.<br />

Gun rights advocacy groups celebrated<br />

early on Monday. Andi Turner,<br />

legislative director for the Texas<br />

State Rifle Association, told that<br />

groups members in an email there<br />

are still steps remaining to become<br />

law, “But I am putting the champagne<br />

in the refrigerator to chill.”<br />

Critics of the legislation, like Texas<br />

Gun Sense, say instead of stopping<br />

the proliferation of guns, the state is<br />

making a move to put more guns on<br />

the streets.<br />

22 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 23


Crime is Increasing and Number of Cops Decreasing<br />

“The Wheels are Coming” as Mayor’s Plan<br />

to ‘Reimagining’ Police Force Crumble<br />

AUSTIN, Texas —The Austin Police<br />

Department is in a state of crisis.<br />

More cuts to specialized APD units<br />

are coming this year, thanks to the<br />

“reimagining” of police led by Mayor<br />

Steve Adler and Councilmember<br />

Greg Casar. Travis County, meanwhile,<br />

steps up targeting police<br />

officers for prosecution.<br />

According to an internal document<br />

provided to the news media<br />

several units face deep cuts or outright<br />

elimination by summer’s end.<br />

The Sex Offender Apprehension and<br />

Registration (SOAR) unit is losing<br />

its officer positions, according to<br />

the APD document. Local Fox 7 TV<br />

has previously reported some of the<br />

cuts.<br />

“As more units are cut, work conditions<br />

for those who stay will continue<br />

to deteriorate, causing more<br />

folks to leave, causing more units<br />

to be cut, and so on. It is basically a<br />

death spiral,” said an inside source.<br />

This appears to be the case. Crime<br />

is sharply increasing in Austin, with<br />

31 homicides in the city so far in<br />

<strong>2021</strong>, far outpacing recent years. In<br />

2019, Austin had 14 homicides by the<br />

end of June, and in 2020, that number<br />

had increased to 23. Previously<br />

released reports indicated the cuts<br />

that were set to hit in early <strong>2021</strong>,<br />

which included the elimination of<br />

whole APD units and sharp reductions<br />

in district representative officers,<br />

who engage in community policing.<br />

Community policing was an<br />

initiative pushed by the left during<br />

the 1990s to improve policing. <strong>No</strong>w,<br />

the left-dominated<br />

Austin city<br />

council is all but<br />

abandoning community<br />

policing.<br />

At the same<br />

time, APD is also<br />

suffering a sharp<br />

increase in officer<br />

resignations<br />

and retirements<br />

thanks directly to<br />

the city council’s<br />

“reimagining”<br />

of police work,<br />

which began with<br />

the council’s vote<br />

to defund APD<br />

by about $140 to $150 million in<br />

August 2020.<br />

If current trends hold, APD could<br />

lose about 10% of its police officers<br />

this year. It was shorthanded entering<br />

2020. Its last two cadet classes<br />

were canceled, and the city council<br />

has voted to resume cadet classes<br />

on June 7.<br />

According to the document outlining<br />

the cuts, 10% of APD detectives<br />

will be reassigned to patrol.<br />

<strong>No</strong>tably, these will be detectives<br />

who have recently earned promotion.<br />

They will have earned promotion,<br />

only to be kept in or returned<br />

to their previous duties thanks to<br />

the deep and widespread cuts Mayor<br />

Adler spearheaded. This can be<br />

expected to decrease officer morale<br />

significantly.<br />

The cuts are coming in two<br />

phases. The first, which includes<br />

the elimination of the DWI and auto<br />

theft units, takes place June 6.<br />

The second phase is set to happen<br />

on August 1. The document indicates<br />

that the August cuts are ghastly.<br />

Many units across the entire department<br />

are sustaining significant cuts<br />

or going away.<br />

Interim APD Chief Joseph Chacon<br />

alerted department staff to the impending<br />

cuts in an email, and noted<br />

that they may create financial and<br />

other issues for officers.<br />

“I want you to know that we are<br />

aware these changes affect each of<br />

you in different ways, and we want<br />

to provide support and resources<br />

during the transition period,” Chacon<br />

says in the email. “If this staffing reallocation<br />

impacts you directly and<br />

you have extenuating circumstances,<br />

our hardship process is an option<br />

available to you.”<br />

24 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 25


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Despite being de-funded by their Mayor, two Austin cops risk their lives<br />

and defy flames to rescue a man just before his truck explodes.<br />

Austin Officers Drag a Man to Safety Seconds<br />

Before His Truck Explodes.<br />

By Kelsey Bradshaw<br />

Austin American-Statesman<br />

AUSTIN, Texas — A man was<br />

pulled from a burning pickup truck<br />

just before it exploded at a South<br />

Austin apartment complex last<br />

month.<br />

Firefighters, Austin-Travis County<br />

EMS medics and Austin police<br />

officers responded around 4:40 p.m.<br />

to The Enclave apartment complex<br />

in the 1000 block of West Stassney<br />

Lane, just west of South First Street,<br />

after receiving reports of a vehicle<br />

that was engulfed in flames with a<br />

person trapped inside.<br />

Officers Chandler Carrera and<br />

Eddie Pineda arrived at the scene<br />

before firefighters and pulled the<br />

man out of the truck. They smashed<br />

a window to open the truck’s door<br />

and dragged the man out before it<br />

became totally engulfed and exploded.<br />

The man, whom authorities did<br />

not identify, was taken to Dell Seton<br />

Medical Center with serious, and<br />

potentially life-threatening smoke<br />

inhalation injuries, medics said.<br />

Fire officials said the man experienced<br />

a medical emergency at the<br />

same time he had finished backing<br />

into a parking spot. He was able to<br />

park the truck, but his foot was still<br />

on the accelerator, officials said.<br />

He was unable to move his foot<br />

off the pedal, which caused the tires<br />

to spin in place and trigger the fire.<br />

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Tony Farmer, 36, was in his home<br />

on the third floor of Heatherwood<br />

II Condominiums next door to the<br />

apartments when he heard a loud<br />

bang.<br />

Next, Farmer heard car alarms<br />

going off and he went to a stairwell<br />

outside at his condo to see what<br />

was happening. He saw nearly a<br />

dozen bystanders in the parking lot<br />

of the apartment complex and Austin<br />

police rushing into the parking<br />

lot.<br />

A man standing near the burning<br />

truck yelled at an officer: “He’s<br />

in there! He’s still in there! He’s in<br />

there!”<br />

Farmer said if it hadn’t been for<br />

that man, he’s not sure anyone<br />

would have known the man was<br />

still trapped inside because the vehicle<br />

was so covered in flames.<br />

The officer got out his baton,<br />

whacked the truck’s window a<br />

couple of times and, with the help<br />

of the other officer, pulled the man<br />

30 to 50 feet away from the vehicle,<br />

Farmer said.<br />

Then, the truck exploded.<br />

“It exploded a little bit, almost<br />

like in the movies, not like a huge<br />

explosion like atomic, but it engulfed<br />

more about 20 seconds after<br />

(the man) was removed from the<br />

vehicle,” Farmer said.<br />

He said it was like watching a<br />

movie.<br />

“The whole thing was crazy,”<br />

Farmer said. “Those cops, there’s no<br />

doubt about it— they risked their<br />

lives and they’re heroes. There’s no<br />

doubt about it.”<br />

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26 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 27


Texas Bans Reality TV & COP Shows<br />

Gov. Abbott signs Javier Ambler Act, banning reality TV shows<br />

from partnering with law enforcement, effective immediately.<br />

AUSTIN, Texas — Gov. Greg<br />

Abbott has signed into law the<br />

Javier Ambler Act, which bans<br />

reality TV shows from partnering<br />

with Texas law enforcement.<br />

House Bill 54 passed the Texas<br />

House 110-34 on April 15, before<br />

making its way to the Senate,<br />

where it passed on May 13th in<br />

a 27-3 vote. After Abbott’s signature<br />

on Wednesday, the law<br />

became effective immediately.<br />

State Rep. James Talarico put<br />

the proposal forward after the<br />

KVUE Defenders last year first<br />

revealed the details of Ambler’s<br />

death after an encounter with<br />

Williamson County deputies.<br />

Ambler died on March 28, 2019,<br />

following a car chase. Williamson<br />

County deputies began chasing<br />

him after he failed to dim his<br />

headlights, touching off a pursuit<br />

that ended in <strong>No</strong>rth Austin.<br />

Deputies used tasers on him as<br />

he shouted that he had a heart<br />

condition and could not breathe.<br />

This all happened while crews<br />

from the now canceled show<br />

“Live PD” filmed.<br />

“Policing is not entertainment,”<br />

said Talarico. “I’m proud<br />

that Democrats and Republicans<br />

came together to pass this bill to<br />

protect our citizens and restore<br />

integrity in law enforcement.”<br />

<strong>No</strong>w, the law will ban entertainment<br />

shows like<br />

“Live PD”<br />

from partnering<br />

with<br />

Texas law<br />

enforcement.<br />

Talarico<br />

and Sen.<br />

John Whitmire,<br />

who<br />

sponsored<br />

the bill in<br />

the Senate,<br />

believe that such partnerships<br />

cause officers to perform for the<br />

cameras instead of doing sound<br />

police work.<br />

Former deputies J.J. Johnson<br />

and Zach Camden have been<br />

indicted on charges of manslaughter<br />

in Ambler’s death.<br />

Former Williamson County<br />

Sheriff Robert Chody and Austin<br />

lawyer Jason Nassour have also<br />

been indicted in connection to<br />

the case.<br />

Jeff Edwards of the Edwards<br />

Law Group released the following<br />

statement on behalf of<br />

Ambler’s parents:<br />

“Javier Ambler was killed because<br />

Williamson County deputies<br />

were encouraged to produce<br />

exciting reality television instead<br />

of simply protecting and serving<br />

the public.<br />

“As a consequence of this<br />

unconscionable decision by the<br />

County and its Sheriff, a beloved<br />

father and son was senselessly<br />

killed.<br />

The big question for fans of<br />

the TV show “Lone Star Law” is,<br />

“Will it come back for another<br />

season?” House Bill 54 does have<br />

a provision that exempts game<br />

wardens, even though they are in<br />

fact Texas Peace Officers.<br />

On March 14, <strong>2021</strong>, at approximately<br />

9:08 p.m., officers were dispatched<br />

to the Banyan Cove Apartments at<br />

3001 East League City Parkway to<br />

assist EMS with an unconscious male<br />

who was possibly suffering from a<br />

drug overdose. Upon their arrival,<br />

Officer Pierre Nguyen, Officer Dominic<br />

Takach, and Officer Jason Ha<br />

retrieved their emergency medical<br />

supplies including doses of NAR-<br />

CAN from their patrol vehicles and<br />

entered the apartment. They found<br />

a 46-year-old male unconscious on<br />

the floor with his friend performing<br />

CPR.<br />

Officers checked the victim for<br />

signs of life and found that he had<br />

a pulse but was sweating profusely<br />

with shallow, ineffective, agonal<br />

Pictured above are, Officer Nguyen, Chief Ratliff, Officer Ha<br />

breathing. These officers recognized<br />

the victim’s symptoms were often<br />

associated with an opioid overdose.<br />

All three officers were prepared to<br />

provide lifesaving measures. Officer<br />

Nguyen continued assessing the<br />

victim and was trying to stimulate<br />

his body to breathe, and Officer<br />

Ha administered the first dose of<br />

NARCAN.<br />

After a few moments, Officer<br />

Nguyen rolled the victim onto his<br />

side to protect his airway from<br />

obstruction, and the victim slowly<br />

began breathing again but was labored<br />

and appeared ineffective. Officer<br />

Takach administered a second<br />

dose of NARCAN, and Officer Nguyen<br />

continued to stimulate the victim by<br />

moving his body after each dose of<br />

NARCAN. During this process, the victim’s<br />

breathing appeared to improve.<br />

During this time, the victim’s friend<br />

advised that he was suspected of<br />

taking Suboxone and Heroin.<br />

Once League City EMS personnel<br />

arrived, these officers assisted loading<br />

the victim onto the gurney, and<br />

by that time, the victim’s condition<br />

had greatly improved by regaining<br />

consciousness.<br />

The quick lifesaving measures provided<br />

by Officer Nguyen, Officer Takach,<br />

and Officer Ha saved the victim’s<br />

life and gave him the opportunity<br />

to have a second chance at life. On<br />

this day, these officers demonstrated<br />

their true commitment and devotion<br />

to service and are great ambassadors<br />

for the League City Police<br />

28 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 29


Governor Abbott Signs ‘Back the Blue’ Legislation<br />

AUSTIN – Governor Greg Abbott<br />

today (June 1, 20201) signed<br />

several pieces of legislation into<br />

law that will stop cities from defunding<br />

the police and enhance<br />

penalties for criminal activities<br />

that interfere with or harm law<br />

enforcement. The Governor was<br />

joined for the bill signing by<br />

members of the Texas Legislature,<br />

the Combined Law Enforcement<br />

Associations of Texas, the<br />

Texas Fraternal Order of Police,<br />

the Texas Municipal Police Association,<br />

the Austin Police Association,<br />

the Texas State Troopers<br />

Association, and the Justices of<br />

the Peace and Constables Association<br />

of Texas. The Governor<br />

made preventing cities from defunding<br />

the police an emergency<br />

item this session.<br />

“The men and women of law<br />

enforcement put their lives on<br />

the line every day to keep Texans<br />

safe, and they deserve our<br />

enduring support and gratitude,”<br />

said Governor Abbott. “Efforts to<br />

defund the police are downright<br />

dangerous, and these laws will<br />

prevent cities from making this<br />

reckless decision. These laws also<br />

help protect our law enforcement<br />

officers in the line of duty<br />

by enhancing penalties for crimes<br />

committed against them such as<br />

using fireworks or laser pointers<br />

to harm or obstruct the police.<br />

With these laws, we are bolstering<br />

our support for law enforcement<br />

while ensuring a safer<br />

future for all Texans. I applaud the<br />

Texas Legislature for joining me in<br />

passing these priority items and<br />

for making sure Texas remains a<br />

law-and-order state.”<br />

HOUSE BILL 9<br />

(Klick/Campbell) enhances the<br />

criminal penalty to a state jail felony<br />

offense for anyone who knowingly<br />

blocks an emergency vehicle<br />

or obstructs access to a hospital or<br />

health care facility.<br />

HOUSE BILL 1900<br />

(Goldman/Huffman) freezes<br />

property tax revenues for cities<br />

with a population over 250,000<br />

that defund the police. Under this<br />

law, cities that defund the police<br />

will lose their annexation powers<br />

for 10 years and any area annexed<br />

by a defunding city in the past 30<br />

years can vote to dis-annex from<br />

the city. It also allows the State<br />

of Texas to withhold sales taxes<br />

collected by a defunding city<br />

and give it to the Texas D.P.S. to<br />

pay for the cost of state resources<br />

used to protect residents of a<br />

defunded municipality.<br />

HOUSE BILL 2366<br />

(Buckley/Hughes) enhances<br />

criminal penalties for the use of<br />

laser pointers and creates an offense<br />

for the use of fireworks to<br />

harm or obstruct the police.<br />

SENATE BILL 23<br />

(Huffman/Oliverson) requires<br />

voter approval to reduce law<br />

enforcement budgets in counties<br />

with a population of more than<br />

one million. If voter approval is<br />

not received, but the county still<br />

defunds the police, the county’s<br />

property tax revenue will be<br />

frozen.<br />

30 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 31


Officer calls for backup while dozens of party goers jump on his patrol car.<br />

Angry Mob Trap St. Louis Officer Inside<br />

Patrol Car After Responding to Complaints<br />

St. Louis city officials say a<br />

group of partygoers jumped on<br />

and substantially damaged a<br />

police patrol vehicle while an<br />

officer was trapped inside early<br />

Sunday morning.<br />

A police spokesperson told<br />

Fox2 the department received a<br />

total of 13 calls around 2:30 a.m.<br />

Sunday morning for a large party<br />

on the top floor of an apartment<br />

building. Police claim as the<br />

responding officers attempted to<br />

disband the crowd of more than<br />

100 people, they began to congregate<br />

outside the building.<br />

The officer inside was reportedly<br />

not injured.<br />

The mob was dispersed when<br />

backup officers arrived.<br />

Mayor Tishaura Jones said in a<br />

tweet Monday, “While I’m thankful<br />

the St. Louis Metropolitan<br />

Police Department responded<br />

quickly and dispersed the crowd<br />

without conflict of injury, I’m<br />

disappointed in those people<br />

who will now have to face consequences<br />

for their behavior.”<br />

The police department is now<br />

asking for the public to help<br />

them identify anyone in the videos<br />

the department released or<br />

in other social media posts.<br />

WATCH VIDEO<br />

HERE >>>><br />

Another “not cool” Photo Op<br />

This photo emerged a day after suspect Eric Boykin was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly holding up<br />

a Hancock Bank in the small town of Prentiss, Mississippi, and fleeing the scene. Multiple federal and<br />

state law enforcement agencies including the FBI and ATF joined the search before Boykin was found in<br />

a wooded area about 600 yards from the bank, according to WLBT. The outlet published the photo of<br />

Boykin - who’s smiling - flanked by four armed officers and three police dogs. The image immediately<br />

sparked backlash on social media as critics slammed the officers for turning the serious ordeal into a<br />

silly photo-op.<br />

get your<br />

FREE SUBSCRIPTION<br />

to The BLUES, scan the<br />

QR code or click here.<br />

32 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 33


School Votes to Disarm School Resource Officers<br />

<strong>No</strong> longer allowed to carry a firearm<br />

because it “makes students scared.”<br />

MONROE COUNTY, IN – Following<br />

a school board vote earlier<br />

in May, resource officers posted<br />

within Monroe County Community<br />

Schools will no longer be allowed<br />

to carry a firearm.<br />

Reportedly the rationale from<br />

some within the school board to<br />

enact this measure is because officers<br />

carrying guns “signify” that<br />

students “have something to be<br />

afraid of.”<br />

During the school board meeting<br />

on the evening of May 18th,<br />

the board had voted to change the<br />

policy regarding school resource<br />

officers carrying firearms on<br />

school property.<br />

While Monroe County Community<br />

Schools will still employ<br />

school resource officers, the new<br />

policy removes their permission<br />

to carry firearms while on school<br />

property.<br />

Apparently, this measure came<br />

to fruition based upon a general<br />

consensus that it’s important<br />

to make students feel welcome<br />

when they come into school, with<br />

school board member April Hennessey<br />

stating the following:<br />

“For many people, guns signify<br />

that we have something to be<br />

afraid of. If we say that schools<br />

are safe, then we have to lean into<br />

that.”<br />

Prior to the vote coming to its<br />

conclusion during the evening of<br />

May 18th, the school board did<br />

read one letter that reportedly<br />

came from a nurse that criticized<br />

the then-proposed policy change.<br />

An excerpt from the letter stated<br />

the following:<br />

“I feel it’s absurd you have decided<br />

to take such drastic actions<br />

without consulting with those<br />

officers.”<br />

As it turns out, the nurse that<br />

wrote that letter is not alone<br />

in their thought that disarming<br />

school resource officers is a bit<br />

drastic.<br />

Chase Lyday, who is with the<br />

Indiana SRO Association, is among<br />

the crowd that believes having<br />

properly trained school resource<br />

officers that have access to a firearm<br />

makes schools safer.<br />

“Disarming school resource<br />

officers prevents them from doing<br />

the full weight of responsibility<br />

they’ve been asked to do in the<br />

schools. It doesn’t align with best<br />

practice.”<br />

“School resource officers should<br />

be carefully selected and trained to<br />

do a job and properly equipped to<br />

do that job.”<br />

Local news outlet FOX 59 wound<br />

up reaching out to several school<br />

districts around central Indiana to<br />

see if those other districts were<br />

prohibiting school resource officers<br />

from carrying weapons.<br />

The news outlet couldn’t find<br />

any other school districts enacting<br />

such mandates.<br />

Reportedly one school board<br />

member did vote against the<br />

change with respect to disarming<br />

school resource officers, urging the<br />

school board to delay the decision<br />

until a new superintendent takes<br />

over in July of this year. However,<br />

that request failed to pass.<br />

Chicago Unveils New Foot Pursuit Policy Following<br />

Multiple Shootings<br />

Among its rules, the new policy bans pursuits for minor traffic violations and bars<br />

officers from separating from partners if they can’t see the suspect.<br />

By Herbert G. McCann<br />

Associated Press<br />

CHICAGO — The Chicago Police<br />

Department on Wednesday<br />

announced a new foot-pursuit<br />

policy that officials say makes<br />

the safety of officers and members<br />

of the public a priority.<br />

The new policy comes in the<br />

wake of foot pursuits that ended<br />

in the fatal shooting by police<br />

earlier this year of Adam Toledo,<br />

13, and Anthony Alvarez, 21.<br />

Among its rules, the new policy<br />

prohibits foot pursuits for minor<br />

traffic violations, bars officers<br />

from separating from partners if<br />

they can’t see the person they’re<br />

chasing or if the officer or the<br />

person is injured. Under the new<br />

policy, the chase must end if<br />

the officer has lost track of their<br />

location or their surroundings,<br />

if there is too much distance or<br />

obstacles between the officer<br />

and the person they are chasing,<br />

and if they will not be able to<br />

control the subject of the chase<br />

in a confrontation.<br />

In addition, officers must first<br />

consider if the need to apprehend<br />

a suspect is worth the risk<br />

to the officer, the public or the<br />

subject before a foot pursuit<br />

takes place. The policy also says<br />

officers can pursue people on<br />

foot only if they have probable<br />

cause the person committed<br />

a crime or believe that they’re<br />

about to commit one.<br />

Police officers must<br />

activate body worn<br />

cameras for every<br />

foot pursuit.<br />

Superintendent<br />

David Brown said officers<br />

had been using<br />

the strategies during<br />

foot chases, but<br />

making the strategy<br />

a written policy will<br />

make officers subject<br />

to disciplinary action<br />

if they violate it. The<br />

new policy will temporarily go<br />

into effect June 11. The public<br />

will have an opportunity to offer<br />

feedback before it becomes permanent<br />

in September.<br />

“It’s essential the voices of our<br />

officers and community members<br />

are represented in policies<br />

that can directly affect them,”<br />

Brown said. “As we transform<br />

the police department through<br />

reform, we will continue to<br />

collaborate with our residents to<br />

make Chicago safer for everyone.”<br />

The announcement of the new<br />

policy comes four years after the<br />

Department of Justice issued a<br />

report saying too many Chicago<br />

police chases were unnecessary<br />

or ended with officers shooting<br />

people they didn’t need to and<br />

two years after a judge signed<br />

off on a consent decree requiring<br />

the department to adopt a foot<br />

pursuit policy.<br />

The week after the fatal shootings<br />

of Toledo on March 29 and<br />

Alvarez on March 31, which video<br />

shows were holding handguns<br />

right before or as officers shot<br />

them, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced<br />

the department would<br />

implement a foot pursuit policy<br />

by summer.<br />

“Because foot pursuits are one<br />

of the most dangerous actions<br />

that police officers can engage<br />

in, we cannot afford to wait any<br />

longer to put a policy in place<br />

that regulates them,” Lightfoot<br />

said in a statement announcing<br />

the policy.<br />

Police officials say officers<br />

will undergo training to familiarize<br />

them with the new policy.<br />

The training will focus on the<br />

responsibilities of the pursuing<br />

officer, including the considerations<br />

the officer must take<br />

into account before taking up a<br />

pursuit and what should be done<br />

during a pursuit.<br />

34 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 35


Deputy who mocked LeBron James is<br />

fired for ‘continued policy violations.’<br />

“His termination had nothing to do with the video.”<br />

By Jacob Scholl<br />

The Idaho Statesman<br />

BELLEVUE, Idaho — An Idaho law<br />

enforcement officer who gained<br />

notoriety for his TikTok videos has<br />

been fired from his job.<br />

In a Facebook post last month,<br />

Bellevue Mayor Ned Burns wrote<br />

that Deputy Marshal Nate Silvester<br />

was terminated from the Bellevue<br />

City Marshal’s Office for “continued<br />

policy violations.”<br />

According to Burns, Silvester violated<br />

“several” city and state policies<br />

on policing during the week of<br />

May 20. Because of previous policy<br />

violations, Silvester had been placed<br />

on a “last chance agreement” with<br />

his commanding officers.<br />

“Because of his continued policy<br />

violations, the Marshal has terminated<br />

Mr. Sylvester effective May<br />

27th, <strong>2021</strong>,” Burns wrote.<br />

The mayor said Silvester’s termination<br />

had nothing to do with his<br />

online posts that first landed him in<br />

the public eye.<br />

“He was not terminated for the<br />

content of his speech; he was<br />

terminated for his failure to follow<br />

clearly laid out and well-established<br />

policy,” Burns wrote.<br />

The decision to fire Silvester was<br />

not made by the mayor or city<br />

council, but rather by the Bellevue<br />

Marshal’s Office. Burns wrote that<br />

he and the council are supportive of<br />

the decision made by City Marshal<br />

Mynde Heil.<br />

Silvester gained notoriety after a<br />

video he posted to TikTok, a social<br />

media platform, was viewed millions<br />

of times. In it, Silvester is in<br />

his police uniform and sitting in his<br />

patrol car while he criticizes NBA<br />

star LeBron James by pretending to<br />

take a call from James.<br />

The Los Angeles Laker tweeted<br />

a photo of Columbus, Ohio, police<br />

officer Nicholas Reardon after<br />

the officer fatally shot 16-year-old<br />

Ma’Khia Bryant, who is black, four<br />

times. In the since-deleted tweet,<br />

James wrote, “YOU’RE NEXT. #AC-<br />

COUNTABILITY.”<br />

The tweet appeared to reference<br />

the conviction of former Minneapolis<br />

police officer Derek Chauvin,<br />

who was found guilty of murder<br />

for killing George Floyd. The verdict<br />

came just a day before the Ohio<br />

police shooting.<br />

After Silvester’s video went viral<br />

on social media, the Bellevue<br />

Marshal’s Office issued a statement<br />

about the deputy’s opinions online.<br />

“The statements made do NOT<br />

represent the Bellevue Marshal’s<br />

Office,” the April 27 Facebook post<br />

read. “The Bellevue Marshal’s Office<br />

always demands that our deputies<br />

engage with our citizens in a<br />

friendly and professional manner.”<br />

Silvester was suspended from the<br />

department for several days without<br />

pay, prompting a GoFundMe<br />

fundraiser to raise money for the<br />

deputy. As of Thursday, the Go-<br />

FundMe web page had surpassed<br />

CLICK TO WATCH THE VIDEO<br />

$520,000 in donations.<br />

Silvester posted several times<br />

online thanking supporters for the<br />

donations, and later said he landed<br />

a book deal. According to his TikTok<br />

page, the book deal is through Di<br />

Angelo Publications.<br />

Silvester started posting on TikTok<br />

in December 2020, and he has continued<br />

to post on TikTok since his<br />

first suspension. In one post, Silvester<br />

is in uniform when he ignores<br />

what appears to be an imaginary<br />

fight occurring outside of his patrol<br />

car, with the phrase “When a pedophile<br />

is about to get his a— beat”<br />

visible on the screen.<br />

In Silvester’s latest video on<br />

TikTok, he shows a video in which<br />

gunshots can be heard at George<br />

Floyd Square in Minneapolis near<br />

where Floyd was killed. Silvester<br />

ends the video saying: “I can’t think<br />

of a more fitting way to celebrate<br />

the memory of a career criminal<br />

than to have a shootout in the middle<br />

of a public street.”<br />

36 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE <strong>37</strong>


Fallout From the ‘Defund’ Movement<br />

As many experts predicted, we have seen a rise in violent crime<br />

accompanied by an increase in officer retirements and resignations.<br />

By James Dudley<br />

As one of my heroes, Gordon Graham,<br />

says, “Predictable is preventable.”<br />

That is surely the case when<br />

it comes to the “ready, fire, aim”<br />

approach (act first, think after) of<br />

the “defund the police” movement.<br />

As many law enforcement experts<br />

predicted, we have seen a rise<br />

in violence in several cities across<br />

America, both large and small. The<br />

fall-out from the defunding rhetoric,<br />

in both words and deeds, not<br />

only impacted crime rates, but also<br />

caused an increase in attrition from<br />

early retirements, lateral transfers<br />

to other agencies, or officers simply<br />

quitting due to low morale.<br />

Looking back on my article from a<br />

year ago, my main predictions were<br />

modest:<br />

In several cities that defunded law<br />

enforcement agencies by millions<br />

of dollars, that strategy has been<br />

reversed, due to rising crime rates<br />

and complaints from communities<br />

most hard hit by crime.<br />

“THREATS TO REDUCE FUND-<br />

ING WILL NOT BE SIGNIFICANT TO<br />

ACTUAL DEPLOYMENT OF FIELD<br />

OFFICERS.”<br />

I predicted that the threats to<br />

reduce funding and resources for<br />

police would have little impact on<br />

day-to-day operations and was little<br />

more than “saber-rattling.” Well,<br />

I was certainly wrong about that.<br />

The domino effect has caused<br />

agencies to scramble to put as<br />

many officers as possible on the<br />

front lines<br />

to respond<br />

to rising violent<br />

crime.<br />

This has left<br />

fewer investigators<br />

to follow up<br />

with investigations<br />

and lower<br />

customer<br />

satisfaction.<br />

It also<br />

left fewer<br />

officers on<br />

the street<br />

to handle<br />

lower, yet<br />

still important, calls for service to<br />

keep smoldering problems from<br />

becoming raging firestorms. Politicians<br />

and elected officials have<br />

seen the negative impact, and many<br />

are beginning to revisit their foray<br />

into their social experiments.<br />

REDUCTION IN “SOCIAL PROB-<br />

LEMS POLICING”<br />

This was a prediction that was<br />

and continues to be accurate in that<br />

many large cities with financial resources<br />

are looking for alternatives<br />

to law enforcement responding to<br />

issues surrounding mental illness,<br />

homelessness and drug abuse.<br />

While the CAHOOTS program<br />

in Oregon has been held as the<br />

sterling example of mental health<br />

outreach programs, creating new<br />

teams to deal with the issues of<br />

mental health, homelessness, and<br />

alcohol and drug addictions remains<br />

a challenge. Some cities have<br />

tried to create civilian teams with<br />

EMS and firefighters responding<br />

with social workers. The struggle<br />

has been to create, train and deploy<br />

enough teams to deal with the<br />

number of calls for service in those<br />

categories.<br />

With more than an estimated<br />

18,000 documented calls for service<br />

for these types of issues, the<br />

San Francisco teams still can only<br />

respond to less than 20% of calls<br />

currently. Reports indicate one<br />

call can take one to four hours to<br />

assess, address and move an individual<br />

to services. People may now<br />

understand the volume of calls for<br />

service dedicated to these issues<br />

that should not have been relegated<br />

to the police in the first place.<br />

Still, more can be done to<br />

relieve law enforcement officers<br />

from duties better suited for<br />

EMS providers, mental health<br />

clinicians and public health and<br />

public works departments.<br />

“POLICE AS FIREFIGHTERS”<br />

In the sense that police will<br />

only respond to calls in their<br />

most volatile and advanced<br />

state of decay, this has seemed<br />

to become a reality.<br />

In many cities and towns, law<br />

enforcement agencies have had<br />

to prioritize the types of calls<br />

that required immediate, urgent<br />

and low-level responses.<br />

Certainly, some calls for service<br />

may be delayed without<br />

consequence, but we may see<br />

the impact further down the road<br />

in the form of under-reporting of<br />

crime, increased violent and property<br />

crime, and even vigilantism.<br />

The impact on business has been<br />

felt, not only due to the impact from<br />

COVID-19 regulations but also from<br />

de-criminalized property crime<br />

laws and mass early releases of<br />

those previously incarcerated.<br />

RELIEF IN SIGHT<br />

In several cities that defunded law<br />

enforcement agencies by millions<br />

of dollars, that strategy has been<br />

reversed, due to rising crime rates<br />

and complaints from communities<br />

most hard hit by crime.<br />

Cities like Portland, Oregon, Los<br />

Angeles, California, Baltimore,<br />

Maryland, Minneapolis, Minnesota<br />

and Chicago, Illinois serve as cautionary<br />

tales of the failed strategies<br />

to reduce police. Some cities have<br />

re-funded their departments to<br />

pre-defunding levels, while some<br />

actually increased the budgets.<br />

As the forewarned social experiment<br />

plays out, the benefits may<br />

be realized in the forms of new<br />

recruitment efforts and with systems<br />

created and being put in place<br />

to deal with issues that may allow<br />

law enforcement to concentrate on<br />

issues of crime, rather than social<br />

services.<br />

About the Author: James Dudley is<br />

a 32-year veteran of the San Francisco<br />

Police Department where he<br />

retired as deputy chief of the Patrol<br />

Bureau.<br />

38 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 39


What Happened to Susan Miller?<br />

There is no doubt bad cops are<br />

living and working among us.<br />

They come into the station and<br />

go through the same motions<br />

each of us do. They do the same<br />

paperwork, write the same<br />

reports and make traffic stops.<br />

Every once in a while, you back<br />

them up on calls. In order words,<br />

in all respects they seem normal<br />

and just like the rest of us. Until<br />

one day, the dirty filthy truth<br />

comes spilling out and everyone<br />

is like “<strong>No</strong> fucking way? <strong>No</strong>t him!<br />

I had no idea.”<br />

Unfortunately, cops are human,<br />

and humans fuck up. Hell, if they<br />

didn’t, they wouldn’t need us,<br />

right? But cops are supposed to<br />

be better than everyone else, a<br />

step above. And certainly not the<br />

scumbags we arrest every day.<br />

All of this takes me back to<br />

my first years on the job. When<br />

I met Joe. He worked evenings<br />

and I worked days. Joe was that<br />

cocky, asshole cop that always<br />

thought he was better than<br />

everyone else. And I don’t mean<br />

with the general public, I mean<br />

everyone including his fellow<br />

cops. He thought he was a number<br />

one supreme. In other words,<br />

the guy was just an asshole.<br />

But since we worked opposite<br />

shifts I rarely, if ever, had<br />

to interact with the guy. That is<br />

until one day I was dispatched to<br />

Joe’s apartment complex where<br />

he worked security. A disturbance<br />

call at the office, involving<br />

a white female and Hispanic<br />

male. I pulled into the parking<br />

lot and found a young 20 something<br />

white female sitting on the<br />

curb just outside the office. She<br />

was obviously upset, crying and<br />

looked like terrified.<br />

Ma’am I’m Officer Barrett,<br />

are you the one who called the<br />

police? She was shaking uncontrollably<br />

and could hardly speak.<br />

Do you need an ambulance? Are<br />

you injured? What’s going on?<br />

She just looked up at me with<br />

a blank stare and this terrified<br />

look. As long as I live, I will never<br />

forget the look on her face or the<br />

tremble in her voice when she<br />

spoke.<br />

“I’m not sure you can help<br />

me. I’mmm, I’mmmm I’mmmm<br />

soooooo, scared. Are you going<br />

to hurt me too? Are you one of<br />

WORDS BY OFFICER BARRETT<br />

his friends? Did he send you here<br />

to take me away?”<br />

Who is HE ma’am? Did someone<br />

hurt you? What’s your name<br />

ma’am?<br />

“Yes, yesssss! He he he, said if I<br />

wouldn’t be with him, he’d make<br />

me regret it. I’m afraid he’s going<br />

to hurt me. I don’t want to die.<br />

But are you going to try and kill<br />

me too?<br />

Ma’am I’m here to help you.<br />

<strong>No</strong> one is going to hurt you now<br />

that I’m here. I can promise you<br />

that. Can you stand up? Is there<br />

somewhere we can talk? In your<br />

office? Are you here alone?<br />

“NO! NOT HERE! He can’t see us<br />

talking. He said he’d kill me if I<br />

ever talked to another officer.”<br />

Who is HE Ma’am? Who is<br />

threatening you? Who wants to<br />

kill you?<br />

“Officer Joe!”<br />

What? Who is Officer Joe?<br />

“He lives here. He is our onsite<br />

security officer. He’s a cop just<br />

like you. Please don’t kill me.<br />

PLEASE!!!”<br />

Ok, ma’am you need to come<br />

with me. We walked towards my<br />

patrol car and she stopped dead<br />

in her tracks as soon as she saw<br />

the unit. “OMG, please don’t kill<br />

me!”<br />

Ma’am what is your name?<br />

“Susan….Susan MMMMMMMiller.”<br />

Ms. Miller, look at me. <strong>No</strong> one is<br />

going to hurt you or kill you. I’m<br />

here to help you, do you understand?<br />

I need you to stop crying<br />

so we can talk, and you can tell<br />

me what’s going on with this Joe<br />

person. Do you understand?<br />

“Yessss.”<br />

Just next door was a Starbucks<br />

that had tables and chairs outside.<br />

I asked her if she was okay<br />

to walk next door so I could get<br />

more information on what the<br />

hell was going on and who the<br />

hell Joe was. She agreed and we<br />

walked across the parking lot to<br />

the Starbucks and sat at a table<br />

away from everyone else.<br />

Ok, let’s start from the beginning.<br />

What’s your full name and<br />

where do you work?<br />

“My name is Susan Miller and<br />

I’m the assistant manager here<br />

at the apartments. I just moved<br />

here about six months ago from<br />

a small town in Kentucky. I’m<br />

going to school to be a nurse<br />

and I work here part-time to pay<br />

for school.”<br />

Ok, go on. Tell me about Officer<br />

Joe and how you met him.<br />

“I was working alone in the<br />

office one afternoon and Officer<br />

Joe came in and started talking<br />

to me. I thought he was just<br />

there to see how things were<br />

going at the apartments, but<br />

he only wanted to talk about<br />

me. He started asked personal<br />

questions about me and whether<br />

I had a boyfriend, stuff like<br />

that. I told him no I didn’t have a<br />

boyfriend and didn’t have time<br />

for anyone but me because of<br />

my school and my job. Then he<br />

came over and started running<br />

his hands through my hair and<br />

saying how he’s wanted to have<br />

sex with me since the day he<br />

moved in. I jumped out of my<br />

chair and ran across the room to<br />

get away from him. I told him he<br />

needed to leave, and he grabbed<br />

me around the neck and started<br />

choking me. He said I was going<br />

to have sex with him and if I refused,<br />

he was going to make me<br />

regret it. I managed to get away<br />

from him about the same time a<br />

new resident walked in the door.<br />

He turned around as if nothing<br />

happened and walked over to<br />

the resident and said “Hi, I’m Joe<br />

I work security here, welcome to<br />

our new property” and then he<br />

said, “I’ll see you later Ms. Miller,”<br />

and walked out.<br />

When was this? What date and<br />

time?<br />

“That was two weeks ago. He<br />

called me later that night and<br />

said if I told anyone about what<br />

happened in the office, he would<br />

kill me.”<br />

Wait, he said he would kill<br />

you?<br />

“Yes. He’s said that multiple<br />

times and I’m scared he will. He’s<br />

fucking crazy. Are you sure you<br />

aren’t his friend?”<br />

Susan, I don’t even know this<br />

guy….<br />

“Yes you do, he works with<br />

you.”<br />

What are you talking about?<br />

What do you mean he works<br />

with me? He’s a cop, not a security<br />

guard?<br />

“<strong>No</strong>, he’s a cop and wears a<br />

uniform just like yours. He works<br />

the evening shift. Joe *****”<br />

It hit me like a ton of bricks. I<br />

knew immediately who she was<br />

talking about. And I knew I had<br />

stepped into a clusterfuck and<br />

that I had to cover my ass.<br />

Ms. Miller, I’m going to call my<br />

supervisor. Just stay here. OK?<br />

“OK.”<br />

I got up and walked away to<br />

call my Sergeant. He was off that<br />

day, but he always said if shit got<br />

sideways to call him. I explained<br />

the entire situation to him and<br />

when I finished, he only asked<br />

one thing…. “Do you believe her?<br />

Is she making this up to hurt this<br />

guy or is she for real?”<br />

Sarge, I have never seen anyone<br />

more terrified in my life.<br />

She was shaking uncontrollably<br />

when I got here. <strong>No</strong> way she’s<br />

making this up.<br />

“Take her statement, write<br />

your report and then I want you<br />

to drive downtown to Internal<br />

Affairs. I’m going to call them<br />

and explain the situation. You<br />

sit down with them and explain<br />

every fucking thing this<br />

woman told you. I’ll have their<br />

Lieutenant. call me when you<br />

get done and we’ll see how they<br />

want to proceed.”<br />

Ok sarge, I’m on it. For the next<br />

two hours, I had Susan recount<br />

everything that had transpired<br />

between her and Officer Joe. I<br />

also had her write a statement<br />

to attach to the report. I explained<br />

what my sergeant wanted<br />

me to do, and I walked her<br />

back to her apartment.<br />

Ms. Miller. Susan. I want you to<br />

lock yourself in this apartment<br />

until I call you back. Don’t go<br />

anywhere. Put the chain on the<br />

door and don’t answer your door<br />

for anyone. Do you understand?<br />

“Yes sir. Thank you so much!”<br />

She threw her arms around me<br />

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and hugged me. Tears streamed<br />

down her face and I could tell<br />

that she seemed relieved that<br />

someone was there to help her<br />

and that she was safe. I drove<br />

downtown and met with internal<br />

affairs. I spent three hours going<br />

over everything Ms. Miller has<br />

said with the two detectives and<br />

their Lieutenant. They called my<br />

sergeant and filled him in. Everyone<br />

decided that we’d all meet<br />

at the apartments the following<br />

day to question Ms. Miller and<br />

take Joe in for questioning. I<br />

called Susan back and gave her<br />

the news. Stay home and I’ll see<br />

you in the morning.<br />

The next day, I arrived at the<br />

apartment office around 9am.<br />

I walked in and was greeted by<br />

the apartment manager. I asked<br />

to see Ms. Miller and the manager<br />

said, “Sorry she hasn’t made<br />

it in yet. Actually, she was supposed<br />

to me here at 8am. Do you<br />

want me to call her?”<br />

<strong>No</strong>, I’ll just walk over to her<br />

apartment. Her apartment was<br />

just around the corner and it<br />

didn’t take but a minute to get<br />

there. I knocked repeatedly and<br />

got no answer. I called her and<br />

got her voicemail. I had a horrible<br />

feeling that something wasn’t<br />

right. I went back to the office<br />

and asked the manager for master<br />

key. She had no idea what<br />

was going on and why would<br />

I be asking for a master key.<br />

About that time, two detectives<br />

from Internal Affairs walked in<br />

the door.<br />

“Should I have our resident officer<br />

come up here to assist you<br />

guys?” she asked.<br />

We all replied at once….NO!!!!!!<br />

We’re ok, we’ll just go check on<br />

her ourselves and please don’t<br />

call anyone. We walked upstairs<br />

to the apartment and I unlocked<br />

the door. Susan, its Officer Barret.<br />

Are you here? Ms. Miller?<br />

“Barrett, the bedroom and<br />

bathroom are clear. She’s not<br />

here”<br />

I told her to stay here and not<br />

leave, I told her to lock…..<br />

I turned around and looked at<br />

the door and the security chain<br />

wasn’t there. The bracket on the<br />

wall was torn off and pieces<br />

of wood were scattered on the<br />

floor.<br />

Guys, she’s gone! Someone took<br />

her!<br />

Have a unique story you’d<br />

like to share with the<br />

BLUES readers?<br />

Send it to: bluespdmag@<br />

gmail.com. Please change<br />

all the names to protect the<br />

innocent and to avoid prosecution<br />

in the event that<br />

the statute of limitations<br />

hasn’t expired.<br />

42 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 43


While I was confident that I<br />

knew exactly what happened to<br />

Susan Miller, the IA detectives on<br />

the scene weren’t so convinced.<br />

They said without a witness to<br />

alleged wrongdoings by this officer,<br />

they had nothing to go on.<br />

Ok if that’s the case, fuck you and<br />

get off my crime scene.<br />

“Excuse me Officer Barrett.”<br />

You heard me, get the fuck off<br />

my crime scene. I’m calling my<br />

supervisor and you’re not needed<br />

here.<br />

Well, that call didn’t go well<br />

but my sergeant did show up…<br />

along with the dayshift Lieutenant.<br />

I convinced them the<br />

complainant was missing and<br />

possibly abducted and we needed<br />

a crime scene unit to process<br />

the apartment. After a lot of<br />

back and forth they agreed, and<br />

I secured the scene until they<br />

arrived. Luckily one of the Crime<br />

Scene officers was a friend of<br />

mine and they swept that apartment<br />

with a fine-tooth comb.<br />

Later that day I was called<br />

into the Captain’s office and<br />

was told that detectives from<br />

Missing Persons was taking over<br />

the case and I was to give them<br />

everything I had and not to get<br />

involved from that day forward.<br />

Well, anyone who knows me,<br />

knows that wasn’t going to<br />

happen. I promised this woman<br />

I would keep her safe and now<br />

she was missing. <strong>No</strong> fucking way<br />

I wasn’t staying on the case. But I<br />

learned early on that bringing up<br />

Officer Joe Asshole wasn’t the<br />

way to go. <strong>No</strong> one wanted to acknowledge<br />

that someone in our<br />

department would be involved in<br />

something as heinous as this. But<br />

the fact remained this woman<br />

was missing, and it was our job<br />

to find out how and why.<br />

For the next few days, I called<br />

everyone she knew in the area.<br />

I went to the nursing school<br />

where she was enrolled, and<br />

they said she just stopped showing<br />

up. <strong>No</strong> way someone works<br />

their ass off to pay for nursing<br />

school and then stops coming.<br />

<strong>No</strong> way! What I did know<br />

was, her keys, purse, wallet and<br />

phone were still in the apartment.<br />

Her car was still parked<br />

in the parking lot. And now two<br />

weeks had gone by and no one,<br />

including her parents had heard<br />

from her.<br />

I heard that IA had brought Joe<br />

in for questioning, but no one<br />

would tell me what he said or<br />

what IA learned from it. And why<br />

WORDS BY OFFICER BARRETT<br />

should they because I wasn’t ON<br />

the case. But I flat out asked my<br />

sergeant if he was a suspect or<br />

not. His reply, “As of now, NO HE<br />

IS NOT!”<br />

I was so pissed, angry and hurt.<br />

I felt like it was my job to protect<br />

her, and I failed. And there<br />

was nothing I could do about it.<br />

It was now going on three weeks<br />

since Susan’s disappearance/<br />

abduction and I knew chances<br />

of finding her alive were slim<br />

to none. It was about this time<br />

I stated having the same dream<br />

over and over again. I guess<br />

some would say nightmare. I<br />

was on patrol. Dispatched to a<br />

body found in a field and it was<br />

Susan. The image of her lying<br />

there in a muddy field, with her<br />

blond hair all matted with dirt<br />

and mud. I started to kneel, and<br />

someone grabbed me, and I<br />

woke up.<br />

The same dream, over and<br />

over again. The same field, the<br />

same mud, the same everything.<br />

I became obsessed with finding<br />

that field. I drove everywhere<br />

in my district. On my days off,<br />

I drove everywhere looking for<br />

something that looked familiar<br />

from the dream. What the<br />

fuck was I doing? It was just a<br />

fucking dream. But I couldn’t<br />

stop thinking about her or<br />

that field. After 3 months of<br />

this I finally went and saw the<br />

department shrink. She said<br />

I was experiencing PTSD and<br />

that I had to come to terms<br />

with fact this was just another<br />

case and NOTHING was my<br />

fault. I agreed to join a PTSD<br />

therapy group that was located<br />

in another city. The last<br />

thing I wanted was to run into<br />

someone I knew. And I admit, it<br />

helped.<br />

The dreams/nightmare eventually<br />

stopped. But to be honest,<br />

I’ve never stopped looking<br />

for Susan. Maybe she decided<br />

to run away, change her name<br />

and never look back. Maybe<br />

she didn’t think she could trust<br />

me and that she’d be killed if<br />

she stuck around. So, she just<br />

disappeared, and she is living<br />

somewhere else safe and<br />

sound.<br />

Or asshole Joe, used his<br />

master key to unlock her<br />

apartment, broke the safety<br />

chain and took her. Did he kill<br />

her and dump her body? Did<br />

he bury her somewhere? What<br />

did he tell IA and what if any<br />

evidence did the Crime Scene<br />

guys find in the apartment<br />

linking Joe to Susan? Did they<br />

even collect a DNA sample<br />

from Joe for future comparison?<br />

I knew I would probably<br />

be fired, but I tried to access<br />

the report on more than one<br />

occasion and each time the<br />

case said: “File blocked, you<br />

do not have access.” I DON’T<br />

HAVE ACCESS OR NO ONE HAS<br />

ACCESS?<br />

It’s been over 30 years since<br />

Susan went missing. Her body<br />

was never found, and her parents<br />

never heard from her again.<br />

Officially she is just a missing<br />

person. If she was murdered,<br />

her killer got away with it. If Joe<br />

killed her, a bad cop got away<br />

with murder. Either way, I think<br />

about her every single day. Even<br />

in my retirement, I sometimes<br />

see an empty field, pull over, get<br />

out of my car and just stare. I<br />

know she’s out there somewhere<br />

– dead or alive.<br />

Have a unique story you’d<br />

like to share with the<br />

BLUES readers?<br />

Send it to: bluespdmag@<br />

gmail.com. Please change<br />

all the names to protect the<br />

innocent and to avoid prosecution<br />

in the event that<br />

the statute of limitations<br />

hasn’t expired.<br />

44 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 45


Galveston Island<br />

Beach Patrol<br />

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In the Beginning<br />

In the 1800’s, Galveston Island was one of the largest cities in Texas. and hosted a plethora<br />

of firsts: post office (1836), naval base (1836), a cotton compress (1842), a Catholic<br />

parochial school (Ursuline Academy, 1847), an insurance company (1854), and even gas<br />

lights (1856). It’s bustling commerce and waves of immigration made this port city a powerhouse,<br />

providing the rest of Texas with variety of commodities. Like many large ports<br />

at the time, Galveston was in need of equipment to aid mariners who encountered problems.<br />

A national organization based on the east coast, called the United States Life-Saving<br />

Service, was created in response to humanitarian efforts to save the lives of shipwrecked<br />

mariners. This government agency gave Galveston a “Francis Lifeboat” to the Galveston<br />

Port to employ in cases of vessels in distress.<br />

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1850’s<br />

The Early Days of Rescues<br />

On June 2nd, 1857, the Steamship Louisiana, full of furniture<br />

and lumber, caught fire 5 miles off the coast of Galveston.<br />

Due to poor housing and an inconvenient storage location<br />

of the Francis Lifeboat, it could not be used for rescue. Hundreds<br />

of Galvestonians stood on the shoreline in despair as<br />

they watched the ship burn and sink with 35 helpless crewmen<br />

on board. This event prompted citizens to petition the city<br />

for appropriate funds to not only build a proper boat house,<br />

but to mount the Francis Lifeboat on a wheeled carriage for<br />

easier transportation. The federal government also supplied<br />

funds for two additional lifeboats, life-saving equipment, and<br />

a permanent boathouse. Fifty-two volunteers submitted their<br />

names to the Mayor of Galveston for support in creating the<br />

Galveston Lifeboat Association. This was the beginning of<br />

Galveston’s lifesaving service.<br />

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1860’s<br />

Aftermath of Civil War<br />

Just when Galveston Island became fully equipped with the<br />

appropriate equipment for lifesaving, The United States declared<br />

war within itself. The Civil War began on April 16th, 1861,<br />

dividing the United States into two separate territories: The<br />

Union (the original United States Federal Government) and<br />

The Confederate States. The boathouse and lifeboats were federally<br />

funded and therefore property of the United States. It is<br />

thought that the equipment was most likely destroyed when<br />

the Union captured Galveston in 1862. When the war ended,<br />

none of the equipment was salvageable, The Lifeboat Association<br />

no longer existed, and lifesaving efforts on the Island came<br />

to a halt.<br />

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1870’s<br />

Building the Foundation<br />

Kuhn’s Wharf<br />

It would not be until another tragedy occurred that Galveston would possess proper<br />

lifesaving tools and equipment. In <strong>No</strong>vember 1875, the Steamship City of Waco<br />

hailing from New York City arrived in Galveston to unload its cargo. Suddenly, the<br />

ship burst into flames without warning. Strong winds and rough waters prevented<br />

any aid from nearby vessels in the harbor, leaving Galvestonians and sailors alike<br />

to watch in horrified awe as the City of Waco sunk almost immediately. A memorial<br />

service was held in the Grand Opera House, packed with citizens to the point<br />

where there was not an empty seat or space to be found. A reverend gave a moving<br />

eulogy paying tribute to the 35 sailors who lost their lives in the tragedy and<br />

criticized the city for lack of appropriate means to come to their aid. He requested<br />

the city build a life-saving station on the island in honor of those fallen men, since<br />

nothing had been rebuilt since the war. Sumner Kimball, the newly appointed chief<br />

of the Treasury Department’s Revenue Marine Division, answered Galveston’s cries<br />

for help. Kimball, a young lawyer from Maine, instituted an inspection of the United<br />

States’ lifesaving network. He received $200,000 from Congress to professionalize<br />

the Galveston organization, providing new equipment and structures for housing<br />

the lifesaving materials. He also selected the new life station’s location to be Kuhn’s<br />

Wharf off of 18th street. Soon, Galveston would be re-organized and added into<br />

what was known as the United States Lifesaving Districts.<br />

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1890’s<br />

United States Lifesaving<br />

Districts<br />

The United States was divided into several different Life Saving districts<br />

and Galveston was assigned as the headquarters of the ninth district.<br />

Through the late 1800s, the life-saving stations on Galveston Island continued<br />

to rescue shipwrecked mariners under the supervision of Captain<br />

William A. Hutchings, a former constable with the Galveston Police<br />

Department. He was also the Superintendent of the Ninth Life Saving<br />

District. Hutchings regularly inspected the eight stations in the district<br />

keeping them fully manned, well equipped and in good repair. But as<br />

the turn of the century approached, the problem of shipwrecks began to<br />

fade with new steamboat technology, making ships stronger and more<br />

resilient. Recreational swimming began to emerge as a popular pastime,<br />

and the need to rescue distressed swimmers became apparent. In the<br />

early twentieth century, the life-saving stations eventually transitioned<br />

into part of the U.S. Coast Guard. A demand for a new type of lifesaving<br />

had emerged: guarding the lives of swimmers at the beach.<br />

56 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 57


1900’s<br />

From Shipwrecks to<br />

Sunbathers<br />

After the 1900 storm, Mr. George Murdoch, the proprietor of the<br />

Murdoch Bathing Pavilion, announced that he was building a new<br />

pavilion on the site of the old bathhouse to accommodate the increase<br />

in tourism. The new Murdoch Bathing Pavilion was equipped<br />

with the latest in bathing comforts: one hundred and fifty changing<br />

rooms, shower baths, separate toilet rooms, the finest bathing suits for<br />

rent, and special lockers for private suits. As a responsible proprietor,<br />

George Murdoch provided life ropes by which bathers could hold onto<br />

since most people did not know how to swim back then. He also kept<br />

a beach patrol and life-saving crew on duty during the entire bathing<br />

season for his pavilion since Galveston did not have a formal organization<br />

in place. During the summer of 1910, bathhouse records showed<br />

that more than 150,000 people came to Galveston’s beaches and the<br />

majority of them could not swim. The need for a city-wide lifeguard<br />

organization grew rapidly.<br />

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1910’s<br />

The Beginning of<br />

Beach Lifeguards<br />

In 1913, the YMCA organized a crew of volunteer lifeguards for<br />

Galveston Island. This organization, though unpaid, patrolled<br />

Galveston beaches from March to October each year, saving<br />

thousands of swimmers from drowning.<br />

In 1919, this agency became a member of the Red Cross<br />

Life-Saving Corps. Plans called for the erection of a two-story<br />

clubhouse structure, combining a storeroom and headquarters<br />

in one facility, built on pilings outside and above the sea<br />

wall midway between Murdoch’s bathhouse (24th) and Crystal<br />

Palace (23rd) steps. It would contain all the necessary equipment,<br />

such as stretchers and life buoys, as well as signs to<br />

mark sink holes on the beach. Though the lifeguards were still<br />

unpaid volunteers, they were given police authority to help<br />

maintain and control the beaches they guarded.<br />

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The Legend of<br />

LeRoy Colombo<br />

LeRoy made his first rescue at the beach when he was only 12, saving a man twice his size. At 15, he was<br />

fast enough to join the Surf Toboggan Club (STC), an elite Galveston lifesaving club whose rigorous tryout<br />

involved a 3-hour swim in open water without stopping. STC held the highest standards of sportsmanship<br />

and public service and provided free swimming lessons and first aid to beachgoers. He was the<br />

youngest and fastest member of the group, winning over 35 races during his time on the beach. LeRoy’s<br />

speed gave him a status. He beat Olympic swimmer Johnny Weissmuller in a 10-mile-long race in the<br />

Mississippi River. Johnny didn’t finish the race, while LeRoy finished the race with a dislocated arm. Le-<br />

Roy saved two men from a tugboat that caught fire by swimming under the burning oil to retrieve them.<br />

The city even tried to raise enough money to send him to the Olympics but couldn’t collect the funds.<br />

LeRoy was known to have an “uncanny ability to detect swimmers in distress.” Though he was deaf and<br />

mute, he could read lips and speak clear enough to communicate to beach patrons. He was known to be<br />

friendly and humorous. Though the Galveston Beach Patrol didn’t initially hire LeRoy due to his deafness,<br />

he continued voluntarily guarding the beaches. Eventually the city of Galveston hired him due to his elite<br />

skill. Even today, he still holds the Guinness Book of World Records for the most lives saved by one individual<br />

at a total of 907 lives. After he retired at the age of 62, he continued to swim daily. On July 12,<br />

1974, LeRoy passed away from a heart condition. In his honor, Galveston renamed 57th street “Colombo’s<br />

View” and erected a plaque on 57th and Seawall Blvd in 2008. The Austin School for the Deaf renamed<br />

their swimming center in his name and the Rosenberg Library still holds his championship cup. Though<br />

LeRoy is gone, Galveston will never forget his contributions to the foundation of our lifesaving tradition.<br />

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1930’s - 1960’s<br />

Advancements in Lifesaving,<br />

The Beginning of USLA<br />

With the number of beachgoers growing, the city realized its demand was beyond<br />

the volunteer level. By 1935, Galveston hired a handful of lifeguards, stationing them<br />

at 3 main points of the island in addition to the then named “Negro Beach”. They<br />

each worked 8-hour shifts, March through October. By the 1940’s, the island added a<br />

“life-saving beach patrol system,” and their first emergency response vehicle. With<br />

this vehicle, they were able to patrol more miles of beach at a faster pace. They also<br />

provided lifesaving medical aid in the field as opposed to taking victims to the hospital<br />

with little to no prior care. By August 1941, the Galveston Beach Patrol boasted 20<br />

guards. By the 1950’s, the lifeguards were given Police authority and were responsible<br />

for keeping the beaches clean, along with providing aid to the increasing number<br />

of beachgoers. Though the number of lifeguards fluctuated throughout the years, the<br />

lifeguard group continued to flourish. In 1965, an organization called the NSLSA, or the<br />

National Surf Life-Saving Association, connected many Beach Patrol organizations<br />

across the state of California. As the organization matured, it began to accept agencies<br />

across the nation and would later become what we know today as the United<br />

States Lifesaving Association (USLA). This agency became the brotherhood of nationally<br />

recognized Surf Rescue agencies across the United States.<br />

64 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 65


1970’s - 1980’s<br />

The Need for Change &<br />

The Modern Day Beach Patrol<br />

By the late 1970’s, the Galveston Beach Patrol had been switched multiple times<br />

between the various municipal groups with no real commitment for funding or<br />

ownership. Though they consistently had between 20-30 lifeguards, they struggled<br />

with organization and stability, much like other beach lifesaving agencies did<br />

across the country. This is when Senator Babe Schwartz, Dr. Jim McCloy of Texas<br />

A&M University, Sheriff Joe Max Taylor, and others each contributed in valuable<br />

ways to bring a significant change. The Sheriff’s Department took over management<br />

of the Beach Patrol and hotel tax and beach user fee monies were funneled<br />

through the Park Board of Trustees to modernize and expand the Beach Patrol.<br />

Members of the United States Lifesaving Association assisted in the professionalization<br />

of the Galveston Beach Patrol. Schwartz, McCloy, and the USLA held a meeting<br />

at Texas A&M in 1980 with the goal to further aid in legitimizing the new organization<br />

and creating proper training guidelines to certify member agencies and set<br />

minimum standards for open water lifeguards. Many leaders of first responding<br />

agencies and outreach organizations like the Red Cross and YMCA came to the conference<br />

to help create a plan for USLA. Key people of the Galveston Beach Patrol including<br />

future Director Vic Maceo also attended. At the conclusion of the meeting,<br />

the United States Lifesaving Association was formalized, and the Galveston Beach<br />

Patrol would soon join the organization.<br />

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1983<br />

Vic Maceo & The Galveston<br />

County Sheriff’s Dept.<br />

In 1983, Vic Maceo became the Director of the Galveston Island Beach Patrol, which was a division the<br />

Galveston Sheriff’s Department under the direction of Sheriff Joe Max Taylor. To help fund this new<br />

organization, The Moody Foundation of Galveston gave a generous donation to the Galveston Beach<br />

Patrol to help purchase equipment. Using the USLA guidelines as a foundation, Maceo set about creating<br />

a program specifically tailored for Galveston Island. He took into account Galveston’s unique<br />

environment, including the unique beach population, weather changes, jetties, rock groins, and rip<br />

currents. His training program grew until it eventually included nearly 100 hours of rigorous training.<br />

Maceo re-established tryouts emphasizing a requirement to meet minimum standards, raised the<br />

standards for athleticism, and instituted a supervisory hierarchy and a “shadow guarding” program<br />

for young lifeguards. Maceo also instituted a Surf Condition Flag Warning system and under his direction,<br />

the Beach Patrol was one of the first in the country to use a staggered shift system. In 1983,<br />

Maceo sent the first Galveston team to attend the USLA National Lifeguarding Championships in Daytona<br />

Beach, Florida. The team came back beaten but gained experience and the knowledge needed to<br />

adjust their training. Two years later, Galveston hosted the USLA National Competition, attracting some<br />

of the top lifeguards from around the United States to Galveston Island. Since then, the Galveston Island<br />

Beach Patrol has sent a competition team to every USLA national competition and has scored<br />

very well consistently for over 3 decades. Lifeguards also compete in local races throughout the summer<br />

to earn one of the elite spots on the team that travels to a beach somewhere in the country to go<br />

head-to-head with the best the profession has to offer.<br />

68 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 69


2007<br />

The Age of Red & Yellow &<br />

Pass-off of Power<br />

Vic Maceo was the Chief of the<br />

Galveston Island Beach Patrol from<br />

1983-2007, which included an impressive<br />

12-year run of no beach-related<br />

deaths by drowning in a guarded area.<br />

In 2007, Vic Maceo retired, passing the<br />

torch to Chief Peter Davis. At the same<br />

time, the Galveston Island Beach Patrol<br />

fell solely under the management of<br />

the Galveston Park Board of Trustees,<br />

changing their white shirts and green<br />

shorts to the accepted international<br />

colors for lifesavers around the globe -<br />

red and yellow.<br />

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Police Chief,<br />

Peter Davis<br />

Peter Davis has been an open water lifeguard for <strong>37</strong> years and<br />

currently serves as Chief of the Galveston Island Beach Patrol and<br />

of the Park Board Police Department, where he is responsible for<br />

over 140 beach lifeguards and police officers as well as a junior<br />

lifeguard program of about 120 children. He currently volunteers<br />

as the Secretary General of the Americas Region of the International<br />

Lifesaving Federation, and is the past President and current<br />

Liaison Officer of the United States Lifesaving Association (USLA).<br />

He holds a B.A. in Psychology from Trinity University and a Master<br />

of Fine Art from the University of California-Davis. In 2017 he was<br />

awarded the title of Knight in the Order of Lifesaving from the<br />

International Lifesaving Federation, and in 2019 he was inducted<br />

into the International Swimming Hall of Fame, Water Safety category.<br />

Peter is a USLA instructor for open water lifeguarding and<br />

personal watercraft rescue, as well as a Red Cross Instructor for<br />

Lifeguarding and Medical Response. He holds certification as an<br />

Emergency Medical Technician, Peace Officer, and Public Safety<br />

Diver. He is on the USLA/NOAA (National Weather Service and Sea<br />

Grant) National Rip Current Education Task Group. He also represents<br />

USLA on Water Safety USA, a roundtable of equal leaders<br />

in water safety for the United States. He co-produced and cowrote<br />

the educational video “Texas Beaches- Know the Dangers,”<br />

winner of both the National Telly and Communicators Awards. He<br />

also co-edited the Spanish edition of the USLA Manual- 2nd edition<br />

and has spearheaded a great deal of lifesaving development<br />

work around the world, particularly in central and south America.<br />

In addition to his career in Lifesaving, Peter, a 7th generation<br />

Galvestonian, has taught Art in Botswana, Brooklyn, and Galveston.<br />

He spends his free time surfing, training, and spending time<br />

with his 15-year-old daughter, Kai, on the beach. He loves Galveston<br />

and was the Art Director of the Galveston See-Wall mural<br />

project.<br />

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<strong>2021</strong><br />

An Elite Agency<br />

Each year between five and eight million people visit Galveston Island and the<br />

Beach Patrol patrols the island’s 32 miles year-round with 15 full time employees.<br />

Over the past two years, Davis and his staff have worked over <strong>37</strong>8,369 preventative<br />

actions, responded to 3,335 calls for medical, rescued 209 swimmers,<br />

reunited 148 lost persons, worked 21 drownings, had 7,783 enforcement actions,<br />

10,324 tourist contacts and made 88,215 water safety contacts.<br />

Today, the Galveston Island Beach Patrol is recognized as one of the most professional<br />

and proactive lifeguard agencies in the United States and their mission remains<br />

the same as it was 40 years ago. Protect the 5-8 million people who visit<br />

Galveston beaches each year, respond to aquatic emergencies 24/7/365, educate<br />

the public about water and beach safety, and be a good community partner. But<br />

their highest priority is to make sure every visitor to the beach gets home safely.<br />

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Galveston Island<br />

Beach Patrol, Best of the Best<br />

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Beach Safety Tips<br />

Avoid Swimming at the Ends of the Island: The San Luis Pass and the<br />

Ship Channel have strong tidal currents and changing bottom contours.<br />

Fish from shore in these areas!<br />

Don’t Swim Alone: Your buddy can call or wave for help if you can’t.<br />

Swim Near a Lifeguard<br />

Galveston boasts an “Advanced Level” Lifeguard<br />

service certified by the United States<br />

Lifesaving Association. We’re out there from<br />

early morning till dark throughout the summer<br />

at the large beach parks and along the<br />

seawall, so shouldn’t be hard to find the right<br />

place. The guard is an added layer of protection,<br />

although you are still responsible for you<br />

and your family’s safety. They are there not<br />

only to protect you but to serve as ambassadors<br />

for all the island has to offer.<br />

Don’t Dive in Headfirst: To avoid the chance of a head or neck injury.<br />

Observe Warning Signs and Flags: All 600 of ours are all bilingual and use<br />

icons.<br />

Lifejackets: <strong>No</strong>n-swimmers and children should use properly fitted lifejackets<br />

when in or around the water.<br />

Alcohol and Water Don’t Mix: Many of the beaches here are alcohol<br />

free.<br />

Take Precautions from the Heat and Sun: Wear loose-fitting clothing<br />

and a hat, sunscreen with a high SPF, good sunglasses, and drinking plenty<br />

of non-alcoholic, non-caffeinated beverages. Remember the beach isn’t a<br />

pool or pond. There are currents, marine life, and the bottom is uneven with<br />

troughs and drop-offs. You should be much more careful and be sure to not<br />

exceed your ability.<br />

Avoid Rip Currents<br />

Specifically, stay away from the rocks and<br />

structures- where there is a chance you could<br />

be caught in a dangerous rip current that will<br />

pull you out. If caught in a rip current, relax<br />

and float until the currents and waves return<br />

you to shore. If you’re a good swimmer, swim<br />

parallel to shore towards breaking waves<br />

where the water is shallow and then go to<br />

shore. Never enter a rip to help someone.<br />

Instead, throw a floating object like the ring<br />

buoys and ropes in the rescue boxes on the<br />

groins.<br />

And most importantly, maintain<br />

good situational awareness,<br />

don’t check your brain<br />

at the causeway.<br />

CHIEF PETER DAVIS,<br />

GALVESTON ISLAND<br />

BEACH PATROL<br />

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Beach Safety: Warning Flags<br />

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Texas School District Chiefs Association<br />

Member/Conference in Galveston, June 20-24<br />

Moody Gardens Convention Center<br />

The Texas School District Police Chiefs Association began in 1996 when<br />

a group of school district police chiefs from Houston and the surrounding<br />

area held a luncheon for the purpose of discussing mutual<br />

concerns and sharing ideas.<br />

The chiefs continued to have quarterly meetings, on an informal basis,<br />

until the decision was made in 1997 to form the Southeast Texas<br />

School District Police Chiefs Association. The intent of the group was<br />

to promote the professionalizing of school district policing and to collectively<br />

resolve problems faced by these law enforcement agencies.<br />

During this time, school district police departments were a relatively<br />

new concept, and many were experiencing problems associated with<br />

non-traditional police organizations.<br />

In furtherance of the goal of professionalizing school district policing,<br />

the Association sponsored its first annual training conference in 1998.<br />

The event was held at the Aldine School District in Harris County and<br />

attracted over 100 participants from many parts of the state. The conference<br />

was such a success that it has continued to be held each year.<br />

In 2001, the group voted to change the name to the Texas School District<br />

Police Chiefs Association in order to promote the standardization<br />

of school district policing on a statewide basis.<br />

82 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 83


<strong>2021</strong> TSPCA Conference Schedule<br />

Sunday, June 20th 4:30 - 6pm Executive Board Meeting. Regional Directors<br />

Monday, June 21st 10am-5pm Conference & Gold Sponsor Setup<br />

11am-5pm Vendor Set-up<br />

12pm-5pm Registration<br />

5pm-7pm Chief’s Round Table<br />

Tuesday, June 22nd 7am-8am Registration<br />

8am-9am Welcome, President Kimberely<br />

9am-10am Michael Dorn-Safe Havens Int.<br />

10am-10:30am Break w/vendors<br />

10:30am-12pm Michael Dorn (cont.)<br />

12pm-1:30pm Lunch w/vendors<br />

1:30pm-3pm Michael Dorn (cont.)<br />

3pm-3:30pm Break w/vendors<br />

3:30pm-5pm Michael Dorn (cont.)<br />

5:30pm-8pm Conference Sponsor Networking Social<br />

Wednesday, June 23rd 8am-10am Nick Daugherty-Financial Cop<br />

10am-10:30am Break w/vendors<br />

` 10:30am-12pm Nick Daugherty(cont.)<br />

12pm-1:30pm Lunch w/vendors<br />

1:30pm-3pm Dr. Joel Shults - Effective Police leadership<br />

3pm-3:30pm Break w/vendors<br />

3:30pm-5pm Dr. Joel Shults (cont.)<br />

5:30pm-8pm Conference Sponsor Networking Social<br />

KeyWarden is the Texas distributor of Morse Watchmans industry-leading key and asset management systems. We are actively involved<br />

in the Texas Law Enforcement community as a founding member of the East Texas 100 club, and corporate members of the <strong>No</strong>rth Texas<br />

Police Chiefs Association, the East Texas Police Chiefs Association, the High Plains Police Chiefs Association, and the Central Texas Police<br />

Chiefs Association. We are proud to participate in the TEXAS SCHOOL DISTRICT POLICE CHIEFS ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE.<br />

THE KEYWATCHER TOUCH SYSTEM is deployed in the law enforcement environment to:<br />

• Securely dispense track and audit the use of keys to: vehicles, facilities, lockers and<br />

other high-value assets.<br />

• Prevent unauthorized staff from driving specialist vehicles, or racking up miles on the<br />

newer fleet while older units sit idle.<br />

• Allow management to compel the use of vehicle pools rather than staff controlling the<br />

keys to particular units.<br />

• Quicker and more efficient shift changes.<br />

• Control the keys to facilities and mandate accountability.<br />

• Managing and controlling access to assets stored in lockers.<br />

Thursday, June 24th 8am-9:30am Legislative Topics-Attorney Ellen Spaulding /<br />

KBS Group<br />

9:30am-10:30am Closing Remarks / Business / Gun Giveaway<br />

Chief David Kimberely, Klein ISD Police Dept.<br />

19015 Gentle Knoll<br />

San Antonio, Texas 78258<br />

84 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE As a Texas-based company, we provide on site evaluation, implementation, training and support of the<br />

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What to Do?<br />

Making the Most<br />

of Island Time<br />

Attractions<br />

Galveston Island is home to some of the<br />

best attractions Texas has to offer, including<br />

Moody Gardens, Schlitterbahn Waterpark,<br />

the Historic Pleasure Pier, unique<br />

museums, dazzling Victorian architecture,<br />

and 32 miles of sun-kissed beaches.<br />

Historic Buildings & Homes<br />

Although most of the original structures are long gone, the<br />

stories of early islanders live on in renovated structures<br />

and new establishments created in memory of the past.<br />

Galveston Beaches<br />

With 32 miles of shoreline and a variety of<br />

parks, Galveston Island offers something for<br />

every kind of beachgoer. And with warm Gulf<br />

waves from spring through October, there’s<br />

plenty of time to explore each beach’s unique<br />

personality. Whatever your sunseeking fancy,<br />

Galveston has a beach for you.<br />

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Hubcap Grill<br />

<strong>2021</strong> Strand, Galveston, TX<br />

Phone: (409)220-3551<br />

Tours & Sightseeing<br />

Whether you prefer to stroll down quaint<br />

alleyways by foot or trot through the streets<br />

in a carriage, all paths can lead you on an<br />

unforgettable journey back in time. You’ll<br />

be entertained and enlightened by knowledgeable<br />

guides giving tours on foot,<br />

carriage, shuttle or even boat. If you prefer<br />

to do you own thing, we’ve assemble<br />

self-guided tours of popular sights with<br />

maps designed for mobile devices.<br />

Where to Stay?<br />

Casa Del Mar Beachfront Suites<br />

Be the hero of your family vacation! With<br />

a relaxed vibe, beautiful views of the Gulf<br />

of Mexico and steps from the beach,<br />

Casa del Mar is ideal for a family vacation<br />

or weekend getaway. Each suite offers a<br />

private balcony, a small living room with a<br />

queen sleeper sofa, a studio kitchen, private<br />

bedroom, and junior bunks for small<br />

kids.<br />

Explore the Ocean’s Depths<br />

MOODY GARDENS<br />

Dive into the oceans of the world in<br />

a 1.5-million-gallon aquarium teeming<br />

with creatures from tuxedo-clad<br />

penguins to seals, stingrays, sharks<br />

and more!<br />

Hubcap Grill has been voted the<br />

best burger in Houston by Houstonians,<br />

and publications from all<br />

over the country and several food<br />

talk shows agree that Hubcap<br />

Grill is “Houston’s Best Burger!”<br />

And now the famous eatery is on<br />

Galveston’s historic Strand! In<br />

fact, Travel + Leisure Magazine<br />

has rated Houston as the top<br />

burger city in the country, and<br />

said the Hubcap Grill may just<br />

have the Best Burger in America.<br />

Rudy & Paco Restaurant and Bar<br />

2028 Postoffice St., Galveston, TX<br />

Phone: (409)762-3696<br />

When visiting Galveston Island, you<br />

simply can’t miss one of the Island’s<br />

most unique dining experiences,<br />

Rudy & Paco. This award-winning<br />

eatery features grilled seafood<br />

and steak with a South and Central<br />

American sabor. Rudy & Paco<br />

is located next door to The Grand<br />

1894 Opera House, and is a great<br />

choice for pre-show dinner specials.<br />

Reservations are recommended.<br />

Sharky’s Tavern<br />

504 25th St., Galveston, TX<br />

Phone: (409) 443-5584 | Website<br />

Sharky’s Tavern, located a few blocks from<br />

The Strand, features delectable Napoli-style<br />

pizzas, a sports bar, and live music on the<br />

weekends.Baked in their custom wood-fired<br />

oven at 900 degrees for about 90 seconds, the<br />

resulting pies are thin, and bursting with flavor<br />

with ingredients such as house-made doughs,<br />

sauces, and mozzarella; as well as imported<br />

Mozzarella de Bufala. The Sharky’s menu also<br />

features local ingredients and products from<br />

local vendors, including beers from Galveston<br />

Island Brewery and Devil and the Deep Brewery.<br />

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THE OPEN ROAD<br />

by Michael Barron<br />

If you want a HEMI powered Dodge,<br />

The sound of a supercharged HEMI 6.2 may soon be a thing of the past.<br />

you have 2 years to buy one!<br />

The Dodge//SRT brand is<br />

known as the American performance<br />

brand thanks to its value<br />

based high-performance V8<br />

muscle cars and SUVs. Vehicles<br />

like the 797 horsepower Dodge<br />

Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye<br />

Widebody, 717 horsepower<br />

Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat,<br />

and the 470 horsepower Dodge<br />

Durango SRT392, have become<br />

staples to draw people to the<br />

brand. But with the age of electrification<br />

upon us, the HEMI V8<br />

muscle car and SUV era might<br />

be coming to an end.<br />

In a recent interview with Muscle<br />

Cars & Trucks, Dodge Head of<br />

Sales Operations, Matt McAlear,<br />

explained: “There hasn’t been a<br />

date drawn in the sand saying<br />

you’ll no longer be able to buy<br />

an iron block HEMI anymore, but<br />

everybody knows it’s coming,<br />

and they want to enjoy [it] while<br />

they can.”<br />

“Everybody knows electrification<br />

is coming, we’ll reinvent the<br />

muscle car as far as Dodge is<br />

concerned. I’m extremely excited<br />

about where the future is going,<br />

but right now everybody is enjoying<br />

the bachelor party. This is<br />

the last hurrah, said McAlear.”<br />

While the current Dodge Challenger<br />

and Dodge Charger will<br />

continue in production until late<br />

2023, the next-generation cars<br />

will have the capability to feature<br />

internal combustion engines<br />

(ICE) with mild-hybrid electric<br />

(mHEV), plug-in electric (PHEV),<br />

and even battery electric (BEV)<br />

powertrains. Proving that internal<br />

combustion engines will still<br />

be around for some time.<br />

What you might see more of is<br />

a PHEV option for your favorite<br />

muscle cars over the next decade.<br />

The new <strong>2021</strong> Jeep Wrangler<br />

Unlimited 4xe is a great<br />

example of this system, as it<br />

allows the vehicle to integrate<br />

two electric motors and a 400-<br />

volt battery pack with a fuel-efficient,<br />

turbocharged, four-cylinder<br />

engine and Torque Flite<br />

8-speed automatic transmission.<br />

This configuration maximizes the<br />

efficiency of the hybrid propulsion<br />

components and mates<br />

them to a proven driveline.<br />

How it works is fairly simple.<br />

The Wrangler’s 2.0-liter turbocharged<br />

I-4 engine (which<br />

is part of the Global Medium<br />

Engine family, and known as the<br />

GME-T4) is a high-tech, direct-injection<br />

engine that uses<br />

a twin-scroll, low-inertia turbocharger<br />

mounted directly to<br />

the cylinder head, along with<br />

a dedicated cooling circuit for<br />

the turbocharger, intake air and<br />

throttle body for exceptional responsiveness,<br />

performance, and<br />

fuel efficiency.<br />

A high-voltage, liquid-cooled<br />

motor generator unit mounts at<br />

the front of the engine, replacing<br />

the conventional alternator. A<br />

robust belt connects the motor<br />

generator to the engine crankshaft<br />

pulley. The motor-generator<br />

spins the engine for nearly<br />

seamless, fuel-saving, startstop<br />

operation and generates<br />

electricity for the battery pack.<br />

Instead of using a conventional<br />

12-volt starter motor, the vehicle<br />

is equipped with a 12-volt battery<br />

to run accessories.<br />

The second high-voltage<br />

motor-generator is mounted<br />

at the front of the transmission<br />

case, replacing the conventional<br />

torque converter of an automatic<br />

transmission. Two clutches<br />

work to manage power and<br />

torque from the e-motor and<br />

engine. A binary clutch (on/off)<br />

is mounted between the engine<br />

and the motor. When this clutch<br />

is open there is no mechanical<br />

linkage between the engine and<br />

the e-motor, which enables it to<br />

propel the vehicle in electric-only<br />

mode.<br />

When the binary clutch is<br />

closed, torque from the engine<br />

and the e-motor flow combine<br />

through the automatic transmission.<br />

A variable clutch mounted<br />

behind the e-motor manages<br />

engagement with the transmission<br />

to improve drivability and<br />

efficiency.<br />

According to sources at<br />

Dodge, a new turbocharged<br />

inline-six-cylinder engine<br />

(GME-T6) will be an integral<br />

step forward with replacing the<br />

HEMI V8 engines in a majority of<br />

the Dodge//SRT lineup. The new<br />

engine will have multiple levels<br />

of output depending on the<br />

application and should improve<br />

weight, reliability, and fuel efficiency<br />

over the HEMI V8 engines.<br />

Our sources tell us, we will see<br />

the first application of this engine<br />

in the upcoming Wagoneer<br />

and Grand Wagoneer 4xe models<br />

later this fall.<br />

The new GME-T6 will use a<br />

similar application to the one<br />

in the Wrangler Unlimited 4xe<br />

and could show us a combined<br />

output somewhere near 525<br />

horsepower with both the engine<br />

and e-motor. The GME-T4 and<br />

PHEV system in the Wrangler<br />

makes a combined output of <strong>37</strong>5<br />

horsepower, so a 525-horsepower<br />

rating doesn’t seem that<br />

far-fetched.<br />

The Wagoneer and Grand<br />

Wagoneer application could<br />

show us a good hint at what<br />

may be in store for the future<br />

generation Charger and Challenger.<br />

Most importantly, it could<br />

show us an important look at the<br />

next-generation Dodge Durango<br />

which earlier sources indicated<br />

would become a body-on-frame<br />

SUV and be built alongside the<br />

Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer.<br />

If the HEMI does return to the<br />

lineup for the next-generation<br />

of Charger and Challenger,<br />

we expect that will have the<br />

90 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 91


know this is coming,”<br />

Kuniskis said.<br />

“The whole world’s<br />

going get there and<br />

when it does, the<br />

price point of that<br />

technology is going<br />

to come down, and<br />

… the crazy people<br />

are going to take the<br />

electrification that<br />

has now become accessible<br />

from a price<br />

point and make that<br />

performance-based<br />

instead of economy-based.”<br />

The <strong>2021</strong> Jeep Wrangler Rubicon with the new 4XE Chassis<br />

The 5.7liter HEMI v8 with the eTorque system in a 2019 Ram 1500 Pickup<br />

next-generation of Stellantis’<br />

eTorque mild-hybrid system.<br />

Currently, the 5.7-liter HEMI V8<br />

with eTorque combines the variable<br />

valve timing and Fuel Saver<br />

Technology (cylinder deactivation)<br />

that the HEMI has had since<br />

2008, but the eTorque system replaces<br />

the traditional alternator<br />

on the engine with a belt-driven<br />

motor-generator unit that performs<br />

several functions. The<br />

motor-generator unit works with<br />

a 48-volt battery pack to enable<br />

quick and seamless start/stop<br />

function, short-duration torque<br />

addition to the engine crankshaft<br />

in certain driving situations,<br />

and brake energy regeneration,<br />

which improves responsiveness<br />

and efficiency.<br />

With the engine running,<br />

eTorque’s motor-generator<br />

unit feeds a 48-volt current to<br />

a 430-watt-hour lithium-ion<br />

Nickel Manganese Cobalt<br />

(NMC)-Graphite battery. The battery<br />

pack includes a 3-kilowatt<br />

DC-to-DC converter to maintain<br />

the battery’s state of charge and<br />

convert 48 volts to 12 volts to<br />

power the vehicle’s accessories<br />

and charge its conventional 12-<br />

volt lead-acid battery.<br />

A small suitcase-sized, aircooled<br />

battery pack mounts<br />

inside the vehicle’s cabin. The<br />

case is insulated to dampen<br />

noise from the dual cooling fans.<br />

Cooling air is drawn from inside<br />

the vehicle and vented via the<br />

built-in cabin exhausters. The<br />

current eTorque system retains<br />

a conventional 12-volt starter<br />

motor, used for cold starts and<br />

the first start of the day due to<br />

its greater efficiency in extreme<br />

temperatures.<br />

In addition to spinning the<br />

engine for restarts, the eTorque<br />

system also recaptures energy<br />

during deceleration and braking<br />

to feed charge to the battery<br />

pack. eTorque also enhances<br />

the driving experience of the<br />

vehicle by adding torque to the<br />

crankshaft during gear changes<br />

to minimize noise, vibration, and<br />

harshness (NVH).<br />

As for the lineup of supercharged<br />

6.2-liter HEMI Hellcat<br />

V8 vehicles that the Dodge//<br />

SRT brand crank out, we expect<br />

those vehicles to end along with<br />

the current generation of cars.<br />

“The days of an iron block supercharged<br />

6.2-liter V8 are numbered,”<br />

Dodge CEO, Tim Kuniskis<br />

said to CNBC during an interview<br />

back in January.<br />

“The whole world is going to<br />

shift to electrification, right? We<br />

<strong>2021</strong> Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye, <strong>2021</strong> Durango SRT Hellcat, 2020 Challenger SRT Super Stock<br />

92 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 93


Gaius Petronius Arbiter<br />

I always like studying the Romans.<br />

They were some largerthan-life<br />

characters and still are<br />

influential in the western world<br />

view. They were literate and are<br />

derived from a tribe on the Italian<br />

peninsula called the Latins.<br />

Their language is the father of<br />

these Southern European languages:<br />

Italian, Spanish, French,<br />

and Portuguese. Latin is still the<br />

language of science and the<br />

Catholic Church.<br />

One of the figures that I studied<br />

served in the court of the emperor<br />

Nero. Gaius Petronius Arbiter<br />

(27- 66 AD) was a judge of sorts.<br />

He was the author of a satirical<br />

novel that spared<br />

no one and most<br />

Romans thought it<br />

was pretty clever.<br />

Petronius served<br />

the Empire in various<br />

fields, but the<br />

one he is known<br />

for is fashion. He<br />

was Nero’s expert<br />

in deciding what<br />

was appropriate<br />

in terms of style<br />

and deportment.<br />

He was quite literally<br />

the head of<br />

the fashion police.<br />

In order to serve<br />

properly, he slept<br />

all day and partied<br />

all night. It<br />

was a tough job,<br />

but somebody<br />

had to do it.<br />

Prior to being a judge of style<br />

and deportment, Petronius was<br />

a consul of the Empire. He governed<br />

and spoke his mind which<br />

created many friends and, of<br />

course, enemies. One of the<br />

things that got him crossways<br />

with his superiors had to do<br />

with reforming and reorganizing<br />

centurions and others who were<br />

charged with enforcing the Pax<br />

Romana. The Pax Romana refers<br />

to the law and order that Rome<br />

provided its citizens and others<br />

under Roman rule. The heart of<br />

the Empire was the road system<br />

that Roman engineers developed.<br />

I’ve walked on some of these<br />

roads myself and they are just as<br />

magnificent today as they were<br />

two thousand years ago<br />

when Petronius walked<br />

them. The roads allowed<br />

the Legions to cross the<br />

continent without getting<br />

bogged down in mud or<br />

drown in river crossings.<br />

Besides the military, commerce<br />

flowed from one<br />

end of the Mediterranean<br />

to the other with traders<br />

buying and selling goods.<br />

Christian missionaries like<br />

Paul and Silas walked the<br />

roads spreading the gospel<br />

in the region.<br />

The Romans patrolled<br />

their territory and captured<br />

outlaws who threatened<br />

the Pax Romana. As<br />

you might imagine, many<br />

people thought the Roman<br />

rule was heavy handed.<br />

The Roman enforcers of the law<br />

were constantly being reformed<br />

and reorganized to meet new<br />

standards. Petronius commented<br />

on this and his words echo<br />

across the millennia to the present.<br />

“We trained hard, but it<br />

seemed like every time we were<br />

beginning to form into teams we<br />

were reorganized. I was to learn<br />

later in life that we tend to meet<br />

any situation by reorganizing,<br />

and what a wonderful method it<br />

can be for creating the illusion of<br />

progress while actually producing<br />

confusion, inefficiency, and<br />

demoralization.”<br />

I think Petronius may have<br />

been onto something! The new<br />

centurions and enforcers of the<br />

American rule of law can identify<br />

with their Roman forebears from<br />

centuries in the past. Confusion,<br />

inefficiency, and demoralization<br />

are nothing new. They are rather<br />

the constant in the life of any<br />

law enforcement organization.<br />

People constantly “reform” what<br />

they want in law enforcement<br />

and inevitably go back and forth<br />

on a continuum that Petronius<br />

would be very familiar with. So,<br />

what finally happened to Petronius?<br />

Well, he finished his career<br />

as an arbiter (yes, our word for<br />

arbitration comes from the Latin)<br />

by finally making the wrong person<br />

angry. He was sentenced to<br />

death, but he cheated the executioner<br />

by opening up his veins<br />

and discussing affairs of the day<br />

as he bled out. He was a notable<br />

Roman and his life and death<br />

were recorded by Tacitus, Pliny<br />

the Elder, and Plutarch. Before he<br />

bled out, he broke his very fancy<br />

ladle for dipping wine so that<br />

Nero wouldn’t possess it. Petronius<br />

was always thinking!<br />

Congratulations to<br />

Alan Helfman<br />

on your<br />

Lifetime<br />

Achievement Award<br />

PROUD SUPPORTER OF THE BLUES<br />

FOR OVER 36 YEARS<br />

HELFMAN’S<br />

RIVER OAKS CHRYSLER<br />

JEEP • DODGE • RAM • CHRYSLER • FORD<br />

FIAT • ALFA ROMEO • MASERATI<br />

94 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 95


Biden Hosts Floyd Family at White House<br />

Number of Murdered Police Officers’ Families Invited? NONE<br />

Warning: If you are a full<br />

blooded, 100% Democrat, you’ll<br />

probably want to skip this<br />

month’s Light Bulb Award article<br />

for fear of anxiety that could<br />

lead to a heart attack or stroke.<br />

You’ve been warned.<br />

When Donald Trump became<br />

President, every Democrat in this<br />

nation went insane proclaiming<br />

“not my President, not my President”<br />

and literally did everything<br />

they could to run him out<br />

of office. The funny thing is, you<br />

didn’t see Republicans yelling<br />

“not my President” when Barack<br />

was ruining this<br />

country (yes, I<br />

meant ruining<br />

not running).<br />

I have always<br />

respected the<br />

office of the<br />

President because<br />

it’s the<br />

office not the<br />

man that represents<br />

this<br />

country. But Joe<br />

Biden obviously<br />

is not running<br />

this country and<br />

should not have been elected<br />

in the first place. I’m not talking<br />

about election fraud; I’m referring<br />

to his mental health. Anyone<br />

who has listened to him for<br />

more than five minutes knows<br />

this to be true.<br />

But SOMEONE is running the<br />

White House. Every past president<br />

will tell you that they<br />

worked 20 hours a day, every<br />

day, and the mental and physical<br />

stress is insane. It takes its toll<br />

even on a physically fit man or<br />

woman. So how is Biden, in his<br />

present condition, even going to<br />

last a year? Which in a way is<br />

sad for the guy that was sucked<br />

into the job by Harris, Pelosi as<br />

well as all the rest of the Democratic<br />

goons.<br />

But this is about a recipient for<br />

the June LB Award, not Michael<br />

Barron’s opinion of the government<br />

and White House. But it<br />

does lead us to our candidate, or<br />

shall we say candidates for the<br />

award for June are: The White<br />

House, The President, The Vice<br />

-President and the entire cabinet.<br />

These people, this government,<br />

have no respect for the Police &<br />

Law Enforcement and what they<br />

represent.<br />

They have chosen to take the<br />

side of evil instead of right and<br />

wrong. When Trump was President,<br />

he called every officer that<br />

had been shot in the line of duty<br />

on his watch. He wanted them to<br />

know he and the First Lady had<br />

their backs. That HE, The Fucking<br />

President of the United States<br />

of America, HAD THEIR BACK<br />

wished him or her a speedy<br />

recovery. Unfortunately, he made<br />

more phone calls to widows<br />

of fallen officers than wounded<br />

ones. Trump would always,<br />

always, reach out to the family<br />

members<br />

to give his<br />

condolences<br />

and let them<br />

know that he<br />

and the First<br />

Lady grieved<br />

with them and<br />

was praying<br />

for them and<br />

their families.<br />

<strong>No</strong> other<br />

President in<br />

the history of<br />

our nation has<br />

ever done this.<br />

<strong>No</strong>t a single one. Trump supported<br />

first responders and respected<br />

the Thin Blue Line.<br />

Biden, and the White House,<br />

hate the Thin Blue Line. They<br />

think it represents evil. They<br />

believe police officers are evil<br />

people that need to be removed<br />

from society. They hate what we<br />

represent and when one of us<br />

is killed or injured in the line of<br />

duty, they respond with “Well<br />

they probably deserved it, always<br />

trying to kill a person of color.”<br />

They honestly think we spend<br />

our entire lives just hoping we<br />

have the chance to shoot someone<br />

and with any luck it will be<br />

a “person of color.” I personally<br />

hate that term “person of color.”<br />

That’s just another “feel good”<br />

term this wimpy ass society<br />

has concocted to make them<br />

feel better about themselves.<br />

“White people need to be less<br />

white!” Fuck that! How about we<br />

all be proud of who we are and<br />

what color we are? I have lots<br />

of friends that are black, brown,<br />

white, red and every damn color<br />

in between. Each and every one<br />

of them is proud of the heritage<br />

they were born into and damn<br />

proud of who they are and what<br />

they have accomplished. One of<br />

those “people of color” is HPD<br />

Chief Troy Finner, one of the<br />

finest police chiefs ever appointed<br />

to HPD and one of the kindest<br />

human beings you’ll ever meet.<br />

It doesn’t matter that the man is<br />

black. What the hell difference<br />

does that make? It’s who he is<br />

and what he has accomplished<br />

that matters. What he is, is<br />

someone that that cares about<br />

his city, his family and every man<br />

and woman who wear a badge<br />

no matter who they work for. I<br />

have a thousand times more respect<br />

for him, than the so-called<br />

President of this country.<br />

When you choose to invite<br />

the family of George Floyd to<br />

the White House and refuse to<br />

lower flags to half-mast during<br />

Police Week, you don’t deserve<br />

my respect or that of my family<br />

in Blue. Invite me to the White<br />

House and I bring real damn<br />

heroes for you to honor. Heroes<br />

who have chosen to fight for<br />

and save people they don’t even<br />

know, even your “people of color.”<br />

We don’t see color, we see<br />

people. We see right and wrong.<br />

Good vs Evil. <strong>No</strong>t this feel-good<br />

crap.<br />

Giving Biden and his White House<br />

staff the Light Bulb Award seems<br />

lame compared to the total disrespect<br />

these people have towards<br />

Police and those that fight to defend<br />

this country. What they deserve is<br />

an Exit Award. We need to focus<br />

our anger on removing them from<br />

office and replacing them with people<br />

who respect what the Thin Blue<br />

Line stands for. Someone who’ll<br />

pick up the phone and call the wife<br />

or husband who just lost the love<br />

of their life. Someone who will<br />

invite the children of fallen officers<br />

to the White House to honor what<br />

their parents died for. <strong>No</strong>t celebrate<br />

the families of violent felons who<br />

broke the law and ended up dead<br />

because they resisted arrest and<br />

failed to comply with police.<br />

Woke society my ass. Wake the<br />

fuck up America and award these<br />

people with an Exit Award of your<br />

own.<br />

96 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 97


Providing a Lifeline:<br />

Humanizing the Badge<br />

Throughout my career I have<br />

connected with some of the<br />

most inspirational individuals<br />

who have left a legacy of positive<br />

change through their mission<br />

to improve mental health<br />

and provide ongoing support to<br />

law enforcement officers. One<br />

such person is David Edwards<br />

who continues to offer a lifeline<br />

to officers throughout the<br />

nation. It is my honor to share<br />

his story this month.<br />

David R. Edwards is president<br />

of Humanizing the Badge, Inc.,<br />

a nonprofit organization seeking<br />

to forge stronger relationships<br />

between police officers and the<br />

communities they serve. David<br />

is also the founder and president<br />

of Call for Backup, a nonprofit<br />

that provides confidential<br />

peer support, resiliency training,<br />

and a suicide awareness<br />

and prevention program for first<br />

responders. With over 40 years<br />

of experience in the areas of<br />

education and public speaking,<br />

David is a pastoral counselor,<br />

police chaplain, and reserve<br />

police officer in Southeast<br />

Michigan. David also teaches in<br />

the social work department of<br />

a private university in Michigan,<br />

is a member of the American<br />

Academy of Experts in Traumatic<br />

Stress, and a member of<br />

the International Law Enforcement<br />

Educators and Trainers<br />

Association.<br />

Humanizing the Badge was<br />

born out of 3 separate efforts<br />

to provide support and encouragement<br />

for police officers<br />

who were struggling under the<br />

weight and stress of the job. In<br />

2014, David founded a Michigan<br />

nonprofit called The 227 Project<br />

- 227 was the badge number of<br />

his son Matthew, a police officer<br />

who was shot and killed in<br />

the line of duty on July 23, 2010<br />

in their hometown of Taylor,<br />

Michigan. David’s other son<br />

Mike (who is better known as<br />

“Mike the Cop” on social media)<br />

began making humorous videos<br />

on Vine and also started a blog<br />

called CopLife. Around that<br />

same time, a police officer’s<br />

wife from the Texas panhandle<br />

(Elizabeth Ogden) wrote a<br />

viral article on Facebook called<br />

“Dear Officer, I See You” and<br />

started a Facebook page called<br />

The We See You Campaign.<br />

The “I See You” article was<br />

written in response to several<br />

high profile police incidents and<br />

the subsequent attacks on police<br />

officers across the country<br />

such as the ambush killing of 2<br />

DR. TINA JAECKLE<br />

NYPD officers on December 20,<br />

2014. Mike saw what Elizabeth<br />

had written, and Elizabeth also<br />

became aware of Mike’s work.<br />

They ended up connecting and<br />

ultimately forming a partnership<br />

that became known as<br />

Humanizing the Badge.<br />

Meanwhile, David was still<br />

focusing his local efforts on<br />

providing critical incident training<br />

and response and serving as<br />

a chaplain at the department<br />

his son Matt had been employed.<br />

Early in 2016, Mike and<br />

Elizabeth asked David to come<br />

on board at Humanizing the<br />

Badge to lead in the formation<br />

of a team that could provide<br />

confidential peer support online<br />

for officers and their family<br />

members as life continued<br />

to become more difficult for<br />

law enforcement everywhere.<br />

Within a year, The 227 Project<br />

changed its name to Humanizing<br />

the Badge, allowing the<br />

organization to grow as<br />

a nationwide nonprofit.<br />

While David assumed a<br />

leadership role as president<br />

of the organization,<br />

both Mike and Elizabeth<br />

held executive positions on<br />

the Board of Directors and<br />

continued to actively participate<br />

in the daily operations.<br />

Several initiatives<br />

were created, including the<br />

provision of workshops,<br />

seminars, and one-onone<br />

support for first responders<br />

and their family<br />

members in the aftermath<br />

of tragedies and a suicide<br />

awareness and prevention<br />

campaign named Call<br />

for Back Up. In the fall of<br />

2020, a new campaign was<br />

launched with another article<br />

on Facebook that went<br />

viral – Dear Officer: #We-<br />

NeedYou. David wrote that<br />

article in response to the<br />

record number of resignations<br />

and early retirements<br />

of police officers across the<br />

country, and the campaign<br />

was started to remind officers<br />

that they are needed, respected,<br />

and supported by millions<br />

of people across the country.<br />

People looking for a peer to<br />

speak with confidentially can<br />

connect with this resource by<br />

sending a message to the Call<br />

for Backup Facebook page at<br />

m.me/callforbackup.org. Those<br />

looking for information about<br />

online or live training programs<br />

can send an email to contact@<br />

callforbackup.org.<br />

David offered the following<br />

additional insight. The unfortunate<br />

reality we face today<br />

is that while a number of<br />

organizations are advocating<br />

for changes in the way police<br />

departments approach the<br />

mental wellness needs of their<br />

officers, the officers themselves<br />

are still skeptical. According<br />

to research, about 80% of<br />

officers believe that there is<br />

still a stigma associated with<br />

reaching out for help for mental<br />

and emotional needs that is<br />

perpetuated by their peers. In<br />

other words, the culture of law<br />

enforcement (and other uniformed<br />

services) is such that<br />

officers convince themselves<br />

98 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 99<br />

To<br />

that they should be tough<br />

enough to handle the stresses<br />

of the job, including critical incidents,<br />

without having to seek<br />

treatment. Those who do seek<br />

treatment are often viewed (or<br />

view themselves) as weak or<br />

ineffective and approximately<br />

90% of officers believe that this<br />

stigma is perpetuated by their<br />

own department. Anything<br />

we can do to help reduce the<br />

level of stigma associated with<br />

mental health in our ranks is<br />

better than ignoring the issue<br />

as has been the case for much<br />

too long.


Myth vs Reality<br />

Regarding Discipline<br />

Over the last few years there<br />

has been a lot of talk about the<br />

heavy-handed discipline that the<br />

department has imposed upon<br />

our members. We have all heard<br />

the stories about officers being<br />

disciplined for mundane violations<br />

of policy from the department.<br />

I want to take a few minutes<br />

to speak about the reality of<br />

disciple and how it works within<br />

the department and how to deal<br />

with discipline issues.<br />

First let’s talk about how the<br />

discipline process works. This<br />

starts with the initial complaint<br />

from a citizen or member of the<br />

department, and it goes through<br />

the investigative process. This<br />

can be done by letter, or as they<br />

have been doing lately, through<br />

interview. Understand that the<br />

department has always been<br />

allowed to interview officers per<br />

Chapter 143 of the Local Government<br />

Code, they have just always<br />

chosen the written questions<br />

in the past. Also know that we<br />

are one of the only agencies in<br />

the state that has done internal<br />

investigations through the written<br />

question process. Once the<br />

investigation is complete, if there<br />

is a sustained allegation or cite, it<br />

will go through the chain of command<br />

for a recommendation from<br />

the division (which often means<br />

an Assistant Chief) on what the<br />

discipline range should be. Once<br />

the division recommendation is<br />

made it is then sent to the Administrative<br />

Discipline Committee<br />

or the Independent Police Oversite<br />

Board depending upon what<br />

type of investigation. The IPOB<br />

only looks at cases to see if they<br />

were investigated properly and if<br />

there are any question that need<br />

to be answered or recommendations<br />

for policy changes. Once<br />

this is completed ALL sustained<br />

complaints goes to the Administrative<br />

Discipline Committee. This<br />

group is made of the chairman<br />

of each of the IPOB groups as<br />

well as the overall Chairman of<br />

IPOB for five civilians, one department<br />

civilian (representing<br />

HOPE), one officer, one Sergeant,<br />

one Lieutenant, one Commander,<br />

one Assistant Chief, and a Union<br />

Representative. This group will<br />

receive the entire IAD packet and<br />

after review make a recommendation<br />

of discipline that will go<br />

to the Chief. The Chief then has<br />

the final say on how much discipline<br />

he or she wants to impose<br />

for the infractions.<br />

Many believe that the HPOU can<br />

control the discipline that the<br />

Chief imposes. This is just not<br />

the case and never has been. The<br />

job of the HPOU is to mitigate<br />

the discipline with the attorneys<br />

up front and then to Arbitrate or<br />

Grieve discipline on the back end.<br />

THE CHIEF HAS THE ULTIMATE<br />

DOUGLAS GRIFFITH<br />

DECISION ON DISCIPLINE! If any<br />

officer believes that discipline is<br />

heavy handed or inappropriate,<br />

we tell them to fight it! The attorneys<br />

are paid to represent you<br />

in these fights with the department<br />

and are happy to do so.<br />

The HPOU pays half the arbitration<br />

cost and the City the other<br />

half and the members pay nothing.<br />

The big problem that we run<br />

into is that most officers do not<br />

want to fight their discipline. We<br />

only arbitrate between 3-5% of<br />

the discipline cases. This is not<br />

due to the HPOU, but to the member<br />

who chooses to take their<br />

discipline without fighting it. The<br />

HPOU CAN NOT fight discipline<br />

on its own, it must be on behalf<br />

of the person aggrieved. We are<br />

always ready, willing, and able to<br />

fight that fight for any officer who<br />

believes they have been wronged<br />

by the department. There are also<br />

those times when the officer will<br />

choose to take a deal because<br />

of personal reasons and we all<br />

should understand that. We will<br />

always fight for officers who feel<br />

they are wrongly disciplined and<br />

want to go to civil service or<br />

arbitration. It is always easy for<br />

some of us to tell others to that<br />

they should fight discipline when<br />

we have no skin in the game and<br />

no chance of losing our jobs. But<br />

we must respect the decision of<br />

each member, who knows their<br />

personal and financial situation<br />

better than anyone else.<br />

I also want to take a second<br />

to talk about the myths that also<br />

get out and seem to grow legs. I<br />

hear time and time again about<br />

officers disciplined for things<br />

just to find out latter that it is<br />

untrue, or only half the story<br />

was told. I was on ADC and can<br />

say without a doubt that most<br />

discipline recommended by the<br />

ADC was fair, but of course there<br />

are always exceptions. The recommended<br />

discipline from ADC<br />

can be enhanced or lowered by<br />

the Chief, as he or she is ultimately<br />

responsible for the discipline<br />

imposed. Understand that<br />

MOST of the time, there is a back<br />

story and the one issue that was<br />

claimed as being responsible for<br />

discipline is not the only issue.<br />

If anyone hears that there is a<br />

case in which discipline is being<br />

imposed that sounds unreasonable,<br />

please do not hesitate to<br />

call the HPOU and let us check<br />

into it. There are cases that we<br />

do not hear about until weeks<br />

later and when we ask if they<br />

appealed, they say no. We need<br />

to know this information up<br />

front so we can try to get ahead<br />

of issues before they get out of<br />

control. Lastly, remember that<br />

rumors are just that, rumors. It is<br />

important to know all the facts<br />

before spreading unsubstantiated<br />

rumors.<br />

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100 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 101


unning 4 heroes<br />

Zechariah<br />

Cartledge:<br />

a True American Hero<br />

Zechariah’s <strong>2021</strong> Run Tracker and Sponsors:<br />

Total Miles Run in <strong>2021</strong>: (as of 5/26/21): 138<br />

Total Miles Run in 2020: 401<br />

Total Miles Run in 2019: <strong>37</strong>6<br />

Overall Miles Run: 915<br />

<strong>2021</strong> Run Stats:<br />

Total Miles Run for <strong>2021</strong> fallen LEO’s (<strong>No</strong>n COVID-19): 69<br />

Total Miles Run for <strong>2021</strong> fallen Firefighters (<strong>No</strong>n COVID-19): 23<br />

Total Miles Run for <strong>2021</strong> fallen COVID-19 Heroes: 12<br />

Total Miles Run for <strong>2021</strong> <strong>No</strong>n Line of Duty Deaths: 0<br />

Total Miles Run for 2020 Fallen LEO’s: 23<br />

Total Miles Run for 2020 Fallen Firefighters: 6<br />

Total Miles Run for 2020/<strong>2021</strong> Fallen K9’s: 0<br />

Total Tribute Runs by State for <strong>2021</strong>: 5<br />

- - - - - - - - - -<br />

States Zechariah has run in: Florida, New York, Georgia (3), South Carolina (2),<br />

Pennsylvania, Illinois (3), Texas (5), Kentucky, Arkansas, Nevada, California,<br />

Arizona, <strong>No</strong>rth Carolina, Tennessee, Delaware, Minnesota, Indiana, Missouri<br />

Sponsors/Supporters:<br />

Shoes - Honor And Respect LLC<br />

Stickers - Powercall Sirens LLC<br />

Lights - Guardian Angel Device<br />

T-Shirts - The Tshirt Shop<br />

Tumblers - Nella’s Cottage<br />

Drone Security - Gresco UAS<br />

Games - Zagbag Board<br />

Sporting Goods - Academy Sports + Outdoors<br />

Marketing - Awake Marketing Agency<br />

Legal - Chisholm Law Firm<br />

Coffee - Engine 3 Coffee<br />

Food - MISSION BBQ; Marco’s Pizza; Texas Roadhouse<br />

501(c)3’s - SUPPORT 1; Brotherhood for the Fallen; Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.)<br />

102 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 103


emembering my hero ...<br />

... HPD Officer John Anthony Salvaggio<br />

Concerns of Police Survivors is an organization whose mission is to help rebuild the<br />

shattered lives of those family members and co-workers of law enforcement officers<br />

that are killed in the line of duty. Marybess Salvaggio recalls memories of her husband<br />

John Anthony Salvaggio from a long lost photo.<br />

The other day while I was<br />

going through my desk, I found<br />

an old picture of my family. I<br />

wasn’t a particularly good picture<br />

and was one I hadn’t seen in<br />

years. Yet a flood of memories<br />

hit me as I remembered the day<br />

when this picture was taken. My<br />

husband John had just bought a<br />

new camera and he wanted to<br />

try out the delay timer, so on the<br />

spur of the moment, he told me<br />

and our two daughters to smile<br />

while he jumped into the picture<br />

at the last minute. We looked<br />

like an orphan family. <strong>No</strong>body’s<br />

hair was combed, the house was<br />

a wreck, and I didn’t have any<br />

makeup on. Before, whenever I<br />

saw this picture, I would groan<br />

and casually toss it aside. On<br />

this day, however, I saw so many<br />

things that I’d never seen before.<br />

I saw a lazy Sunday afternoon<br />

just lying around all together. I<br />

wish we could still do that. I<br />

saw his arm around my shoulder<br />

holding me; I wish I could<br />

feel his touch again. I saw his<br />

twinkling eyes and grinning face;<br />

I wish I could look into those<br />

eyes again. I saw myself saying<br />

something like “Don’t’ take my<br />

picture! I look horrible!” I wish I<br />

could hear him laughing at me. I<br />

saw two little girls who looked<br />

safe and secure because they<br />

thought that mommy and daddy<br />

were perfect and would always<br />

be there to keep them safe. I<br />

wish that it hadn’t had to end so<br />

soon. I did not see our son who<br />

was not born until years later.<br />

I wish he could have known<br />

our family as it was back then.<br />

Finally, I didn’t see the pain and<br />

grief that was to be part of our<br />

future. For that I am grateful for<br />

the good years that we did have.<br />

This picture was ripped apart<br />

when my husband, John, a<br />

Houston Police Officer, was<br />

killed in the line of duty. It was<br />

unexpected, sudden, and final. I<br />

realized too late that every day<br />

is a gift and that we should not<br />

take our loved ones for granted<br />

because like the song says, “If tomorrow<br />

never comes,<br />

will they know how<br />

much I loved them?”<br />

Life as I knew it came<br />

to a screeching halt<br />

the night that John<br />

died. It started out<br />

like any other normal<br />

weekend day. With<br />

John having worked<br />

the night shift for<br />

many years, we had<br />

gotten into a schedule<br />

that was both<br />

comfortable and<br />

routine. During that evening, we<br />

did normal family things. We<br />

talked about<br />

Christmas shopping.<br />

We visited<br />

his parents, and<br />

we videotaped<br />

our son taking his<br />

first steps. John<br />

and our younger<br />

daughter had<br />

an argument<br />

about her being<br />

on the phone too<br />

much, and he left<br />

a message on a<br />

friend’s answer<br />

machine making plans for a<br />

hunting trip the next weekend.<br />

As he left for work, he kissed me<br />

on the forehead and said he’d see<br />

me in a few hours. Well, I never<br />

saw him alive again. I got the<br />

knock on the door that all police<br />

officer wives fear. He had been<br />

injured in a hit and run accident<br />

and as I rode to the hospital with<br />

one of his fellow officers, it had<br />

not sunk in how seriously he was<br />

hurt.<br />

The memories of the rest of<br />

the night are like a fog. I remember<br />

feeling as if I was so<br />

calm that I was just watching<br />

this from afar. I didn’t even cry<br />

or scream. I was so quiet. I<br />

didn’t realize that my mind had<br />

shut down because reality was<br />

too painful to bear. I stayed in<br />

this robot-like trance for several<br />

weeks as I took care of details<br />

and went through the motions<br />

of taking care of my children.<br />

Only after things began to quiet<br />

down did I finally realize what I<br />

had lost. That is when I began<br />

to scream and cry and plead to<br />

have my old life back. Memories<br />

of our 16 year marriage were on<br />

my mind constantly. I think our<br />

marriage was good. We had our<br />

share of ups and downs, but I felt<br />

secure in our love for each other.<br />

104 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE<br />

The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 105


We met as teenagers, married in<br />

our early twenties, and settled<br />

into married life because we felt<br />

we had found what we wanted<br />

in each other. Things were not<br />

perfect. There were the close<br />

times, the passionate ties, the<br />

worrisome times, the you-makeme-sick<br />

times, and the times<br />

that were just<br />

plain hard work.<br />

We could both<br />

be sarcastic and<br />

stubborn, but I<br />

know I was his<br />

favorite person to<br />

argue with just<br />

as he was mine.<br />

He was so many<br />

things to me, a<br />

friend, a lover,<br />

a cheerleader, a<br />

companion, an<br />

advisor, an antagonist,<br />

and a<br />

teacher. I miss<br />

him very much<br />

and sometimes<br />

the memories<br />

still get to me. Working through<br />

this maze of grief has been the<br />

most difficult job I have ever had.<br />

Trying to sort out what is helpful<br />

in allowing me to carry on with<br />

the rest of my life has taken a<br />

great deal of counseling, prayer,<br />

and discipline.<br />

The cruelest fact I have had to<br />

accept is that John is a part of<br />

my past, he cannot really be in<br />

my future as he once was. He<br />

can only be a memory now, even<br />

though he was the central figure<br />

in my future for so many years.<br />

As a friend told me, when I’m<br />

ready to move on, I must take<br />

my memories of John into my<br />

future, otherwise I’ll allow these<br />

memories to keep me living in<br />

the past. Realizing that many of<br />

my plans have changed forever<br />

has left me feeling insecure. I<br />

don’t feel as lucky or secure as<br />

I use to feel. But maybe that<br />

security was really complacency<br />

and maybe that luck was just<br />

taking life for granted. I lost the<br />

most important person in my<br />

world. <strong>No</strong>thing good could ever<br />

come out of this.<br />

I never thought I would be<br />

able to say this, but some good<br />

things have happened to me.<br />

I’ve met wonderful, caring people<br />

through counseling, C.O.P.S.<br />

and grief support groups. I’ve<br />

learned how much others care<br />

about my children and me. I’ve<br />

met a wonderful man who<br />

thinks I’ve cried enough and has<br />

made it his job to make me happy.<br />

I’ve talked to God more and I<br />

know that He listens. I know that<br />

I can take care of my children<br />

and myself and even if I make a<br />

mistake, I’m doing the best I can.<br />

Looking at that old picture<br />

made me think of another picture<br />

that we took since that<br />

time. Our family has made many<br />

changes. I see four of us still,<br />

but a different four. I see us<br />

all dressed up for a joyous but<br />

bittersweet occasion. We don’t<br />

look like orphans in this picture<br />

even though we might feel like<br />

it in our hearts. I see my two<br />

daughters, lovely young women,<br />

with their lives ahead of them.<br />

They have a<br />

strength in their<br />

eyes because<br />

they have already<br />

felt immense<br />

pain and believe<br />

that nothing can<br />

ever hurt them<br />

as much again. I<br />

don’t think they<br />

will let life’s<br />

pettiness get to<br />

them. I see this<br />

handsome young<br />

man, the image<br />

of the daddy he<br />

will never know.<br />

But one thing he<br />

will know is that<br />

his daddy loved<br />

him very much along with his<br />

sisters and his mom. We have<br />

shared so many memories with<br />

him. I see myself but I don’t see<br />

my old self. She is gone forever.<br />

This new self is determined to<br />

keep this family going in the right<br />

direction. I am solely responsible<br />

for these three precious lives left<br />

in my care. <strong>No</strong>thing will keep me<br />

from doing what I consider to be<br />

my most important job. I see an<br />

older and wiser family, a family<br />

that is prepared for the future<br />

because we now know that we<br />

are not immune to suffering and<br />

grief. But I also know we are not<br />

immune to happiness and peace<br />

either. I know this family has<br />

many wonderful new memories<br />

still to enjoy.<br />

106 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 107


Detention Services Officer<br />

Michael Wall<br />

Los Angeles County Probation Department, California<br />

End of Watch Friday, April 30, <strong>2021</strong><br />

Age N/A Tour 14 Years Badge # N/A<br />

Detention Services Officer Michael Wall suffered a fatal heart attack<br />

shortly after restraining a juvenile offender who had led a mob assault on<br />

another juvenile offender at the Central Juvenile Hall at 1605 Eastlake<br />

Avenue in Los Angeles. Officer Wall suddenly collapsed into the arms of<br />

another officer, who immediately began CPR along with other staff. Officer<br />

Wall was transported to a local hospital where he passed away during<br />

emergency surgery.<br />

Officer Wall had served with the Los Angeles County Probation Department<br />

for 14 years. He is survived by his daughter and sisters.<br />

Sergeant<br />

John Burright<br />

Oregon State Police, Oregon<br />

End of Watch Tuesday, May 4, <strong>2021</strong><br />

Age 61 Tour 14 Years Badge # N/A<br />

Sergeant John Burright succumbed to injuries sustained on September 4th,<br />

2001, when he struck by a vehicle near mile marker 243 on I-5 near Albany.<br />

Senior Trooper Maria Mignano and Police Officer Jason Hoerauf, of the Albany<br />

Police Department, were killed in the same incident while all three were assisting<br />

a family whose van had broken down.<br />

Sergeant Burright had served with the Oregon State Police for 14 years. He is<br />

survived by his wife and three sons.<br />

In 2016 a street in Salem, Oregon, was named in Sergeant Burright’s honor.<br />

Detective<br />

Luca Benedetti<br />

San Luis Obispo Police Department, California<br />

End of Watch Monday, May 10, <strong>2021</strong><br />

Age <strong>37</strong> Tour 12 Years Badge # N/A<br />

Detective Luca Benedetti was shot and killed as he and other detectives<br />

executed a search warrant as part of an investigation of a series of burglaries.<br />

The detectives approached the apartment, identified themselves,<br />

and asked to enter. They waited an extended period of time with no response<br />

before forcing entry into the apartment. The suspect was laying<br />

in wait inside and opened fire as the detectives entered the apartment.<br />

Detective Benedetti and another detective were both struck. The subject<br />

was also wounded by return fire and later committed suicide. Detective<br />

Benedetti was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his<br />

wounds.<br />

Deputy Sheriff<br />

Samuel Alexander Leonard<br />

Concho County Sheriff’s Office, Texas<br />

End of Watch Monday, May 10, <strong>2021</strong><br />

Age 26 Tour 1 Year 6 Months Badge # 2402<br />

Deputy Sheriff Samuel Leonard and Sergeant Stephen Jones were shot<br />

and killed while responding to a complaint about a dog in the 100 block of<br />

Bryan Street in Eden, Texas. An altercation occurred as both deputies,<br />

along with an Eden municipal employee, made contact with a subject at<br />

a residence. The subject fatally shot both deputies and critically wounded<br />

the city employee before being taken into custody. The man has been<br />

charged with two counts of capital murder of a police officer.<br />

Deputy Sheriff Leonard served with the Concho County Sheriff’s Office for<br />

six months, having spent one and a half years as a deputy/officer.<br />

Detective Benedetti had served with the San Luis Obispo Police Department<br />

for 12 years. He is survived by his wife and two children.<br />

108 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE<br />

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Sergeant<br />

Stephen Jones<br />

Concho County Sheriff’s Office, Texas<br />

End of Watch Monday, May 10, <strong>2021</strong><br />

Age 34 Tour 8 Years Badge 2404<br />

Police Officer<br />

Jimmy Inn<br />

Stockton Police Department, California<br />

End of Watch Tuesday, May 11, <strong>2021</strong><br />

Age 30 Tour 6 Years, Badge # N/A<br />

Sergeant Stephen Jones and Deputy Sheriff Samuel Leonard were shot<br />

and killed while responding to a complaint about a dog in the 100 block of<br />

Bryan Street in Eden, Texas. An altercation occurred as both deputies,<br />

along with an Eden municipal employee, made contact with a subject at<br />

a residence. The subject fatally shot both deputies and critically wounded<br />

the city employee before being taken into custody. The man has been<br />

charged with two counts of capital murder of a police officer.<br />

Sergeant Jones had served with the Concho County Sheriff’s Office for<br />

eight years.<br />

Police Officer<br />

Chris Oberheim<br />

Champaign Police Department, Illinois<br />

End of Watch Wednesday, May 19, <strong>2021</strong><br />

Age 44 Tour 20 years Badge #703<br />

Police Officer Chris Oberheim was shot and killed at about 3:20 am while<br />

responding to a domestic disturbance call at an apartment complex in<br />

the 3200 block of <strong>No</strong>rth Neil Street. He and another officer had arrived<br />

at the location and were walking from their patrol cars when they encountered<br />

a male subject involved in the disturbance. The man opened fire on<br />

both officers, fatally wounding Officer Oberheim. The second officer was<br />

also wounded but was able to return fire and killed the subject.<br />

Officer Oberheim had served with the Champaign Police Department for<br />

13 years and had previously served with the Decatur Police Department<br />

for seven years. He is survived by his wife and four children.<br />

Police Officer Jimmy Inn was shot and killed while responding to a domestic<br />

violence call in the 4400 block of La Cresta Way. He was approaching<br />

the front door of the residence when a man opened fire on him, fatally<br />

wounding him. A second officer arriving at the home exchanged gunfire<br />

with the subject, who ran back inside of the home. He emerged moments<br />

later holding an 8-year-old boy and began to strangle the child. A bystander<br />

then tackled the subject who was then shot and killed by the<br />

other officer. Officer Inn was transported to a local hospital where he<br />

succumbed to his wounds.<br />

Officer Inn had served with the Stockton Police Department for six years.<br />

He is survived by his wife, 7-month-old son, and two stepchildren. His wife<br />

also works for the Stockton Police Department..<br />

Police Officer<br />

Jeremy Brinton<br />

<strong>No</strong>gales Police Department, Arizona<br />

End of Watch Friday, May 21, <strong>2021</strong><br />

Age 40 Tour 18 Years<br />

Badge N/A<br />

Police Officer Jeremy Brinton succumbed to injuries sustained the previous<br />

evening when he was struck by a vehicle on I-19 near the Mariposa<br />

Road exit at about 8:15 pm. Officer Brinton was working an overtime<br />

assignment and assisting with lane closures at a road construction site.<br />

He was struck by a car as he stood outside of his patrol car. He was flown<br />

to Banner University Medical Center where he succumbed to injuries the<br />

following day.<br />

Officer Brinton had served with the <strong>No</strong>gales Police Department for 18<br />

years. He is survived by his wife and four children.<br />

110 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE<br />

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Corporal<br />

Thomas Wade Frazier<br />

Artesia Police Department, New Mexico<br />

End of Watch Friday, May 21, <strong>2021</strong><br />

Age 42 Tour 17 Years Badge # N/A<br />

Corporal Thomas Frazier was killed in an automobile crash on US Highway<br />

285 near milepost 77, north of Artesia, at about 10:45 am.<br />

He was involved in an active investigation when his vehicle collided with<br />

the back of a tractor-trailer that was turning off of the roadway.<br />

Corporal Frazier had served with the Artesia Police Department for five<br />

years and was assigned to the Criminal Investigations Division. He had<br />

previously served with the Shenandoah County, Virginia, Sheriff’s Office<br />

for 12 years. He also served as the chief of the Sun Country <strong>Vol</strong>unteer<br />

Fire Department in New Mexico. He is survived by his wife and four children.<br />

Police Officer<br />

Scotty Triplett<br />

Memphis Police Department, Tennessee<br />

End of Watch Saturday, May 22, <strong>2021</strong><br />

Age 47 Tour 27 Years Badge # N/A<br />

Police Officer Scotty Triplett was killed in a motorcycle crash while he and<br />

other officers performed an escort along Hickory Hill Road at about 4:45<br />

pm.<br />

He was traveling northbound when an oncoming car disregarded his emergency<br />

equipment and turned left in front of him at the intersection with<br />

Swaying Pine Lane, causing a collision. Officer Triplett was transported to<br />

a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.<br />

Officer Triplett had served with the Memphis Police Department for 27<br />

years. He is survived by his wife and two children.<br />

Detective<br />

Stephen Arnold<br />

Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, Louisiana<br />

End of Watch Sunday, May 23, <strong>2021</strong><br />

Age 35 Tour 12 Years Badge # N/A<br />

Detective Stephen Arnold succumbed to gunshot wounds sustained on<br />

January 26th, 2016, while serving a search warrant and arrest warrant<br />

in the 3500 block of Douglas Street in New Orleans. He and other members<br />

of a DEA Task Force had knocked on the home’s door and announced<br />

themselves but did not receive a response. As they forced entry into<br />

the home the wanted subject opened fire from inside, striking Detective<br />

Arnold five times. Detective Arnold remained in a coma until passing away<br />

from his wounds on May 23, <strong>2021</strong>.<br />

Detective Arnold had served with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office for<br />

12 years and was assigned to the DEA Task Force. He is survived by his<br />

parents and two sisters.<br />

Conservation Officer<br />

Sarah Grell<br />

Minnesota Dept. of Natural Resources , Minnesota<br />

End of Watch Monday, May 24, <strong>2021</strong><br />

Age 39 Tour 16 Years Badge # 478<br />

Conservation Officer Sarah Grell was killed in a vehicle crash at the intersection<br />

of County Road 336 and County Road 57 in Itasca County at<br />

about 8:30 am.<br />

Her department vehicle was struck on the passenger side by a tractor<br />

trailer.<br />

Officer Grell had served with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources<br />

for 16 years. She is survived by her husband and three children.<br />

Her uncle, father, and grandfather also served as conservation officers<br />

with the agency.<br />

112 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE<br />

The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 113


Our Brothers & Sisters in Blue, taken too soon<br />

Deputy Sheriff<br />

Daniel “Duke” Trujillo<br />

Denver Sheriff’s Department, Colorado<br />

End of Watch Wednesday, May 26, <strong>2021</strong><br />

Age 33 Tour 7 Years Badge # N/A<br />

Deputy Sheriff Duke Trujillo died from complications as the result of contracting<br />

COVID-19 in the line of duty at the Downtown Detention Center.<br />

Deputy Trujillo had served with the Denver Sheriff’s Department for seven<br />

years.<br />

Beginning in early 2020, thousands of law enforcement officers and other<br />

first responders throughout the country contracted COVID-19 during<br />

the worldwide pandemic due to requirements of their job. Many of these<br />

first responders have died as a result of COVID-19, and continue to do so<br />

as the virus spreads across the United States.<br />

Trooper<br />

John Harris<br />

Mississippi DPS - Highway Patrol, Mississippi<br />

End of Watch Friday, May 28, <strong>2021</strong><br />

Age N/A Tour N/A Badge # Z-21<br />

Trooper John Harris was struck and killed by a tractor-trailer on State<br />

Highway 16 near Old Yazoo City Road in Madison County.<br />

He was making a traffic stop when he was struck by the semi.<br />

Trooper Harris is survived by his wife, son, and daughter.<br />

Sergeant<br />

Dominic Vaca<br />

San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, California<br />

End of Watch Monday, May 31, <strong>2021</strong><br />

Age 43 Tour 17 Years Badge N/A<br />

Sergeant Dominic Vaca was shot and killed following a vehicle pursuit of<br />

a motorcycle in Yucca Valley at about 2:00 pm. Deputies were conducting<br />

enforcement operations for off-highway vehicle violations when they<br />

attempted to stop the motorcycle near Paxton Road and Imperial Drive<br />

for having no license plate. The driver abandoned the motorcycle near<br />

Dumosa Avenue and Sunnyslope Drive and set up an ambush for responding<br />

deputies. As the deputies approached the motorcycle the subject<br />

opened fire on them, fatally wounding Sergeant Vaca. Other deputies<br />

returned fire and killed the subject. Sergeant Vaca was flown to a trauma<br />

center where he died a short time later.<br />

“When a police officer is killed,<br />

it’s not an agency that loses an officer,<br />

it’s an entire nation.”<br />

Chris Cosgriff, ODMP Founder<br />

Sergeant Vaca had served with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department<br />

for 17 years.<br />

114 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE<br />

The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 115


Summer = Beach + Beach Front Fishing<br />

ED: A Classic Reprint from our<br />

June 2020 Issue. With COVID<br />

winding down, it’s time to hit the<br />

road for good ole Florida Fishing.<br />

The month of June marks the<br />

beginning of summer and the<br />

start of long weekends and family<br />

vacations. Well, this summer<br />

will undoubtably be different as<br />

we learn to do almost everything<br />

with social distancing. But there<br />

is no better form of social distancing<br />

that I can think of then<br />

wade fishing off the beachfront<br />

in the Gulf of Mexico while your<br />

family is hanging out on the<br />

beach. If you live in Texas, we<br />

have a lot of great coastline to<br />

fish. However, my new favorite<br />

beach and fishing grounds are<br />

the beaches of the Florida Panhandle,<br />

specifically<br />

an area<br />

between<br />

Destin and<br />

Panama<br />

City called<br />

30a. It is<br />

referred<br />

to as 30a<br />

after the<br />

two-lane<br />

beach<br />

road that<br />

runs 26<br />

miles<br />

along the<br />

beach<br />

through<br />

twelve unique beach towns like,<br />

Rosemary Beach, Seaside, Watercolor,<br />

and my personal favorite,<br />

Blue Mountain Beach. If<br />

you do an internet search of 30a<br />

Florida, you will find all kinds of<br />

information on this place. This<br />

area is a very popular vacation<br />

spot for families with kids as<br />

the beaches are wide open and<br />

clean with exceptionally white<br />

sand and the water is warm &<br />

crystal clear. Trust me, if you<br />

haven’t been there, you will think<br />

you have arrived in the Caribbean<br />

and if your family seeks out<br />

beach vacation spots, you must<br />

visit this area.<br />

If you are going to fish, recognize<br />

that you will either need<br />

to find some of the more remote<br />

beaches like Topsail Hill Preserve<br />

State Park, or just plan on fishing<br />

early or late when the swimmers<br />

are not out there. Another option<br />

is fishing one of the many rare<br />

dune lakes that run to the ocean,<br />

but that will be a story for<br />

another issue. Like anywhere,<br />

beachfront<br />

wade fishing<br />

can be hit or<br />

miss depending<br />

on tides<br />

and the presence<br />

of bait<br />

fish in the<br />

water. However,<br />

with the<br />

water being<br />

so clear,<br />

you will not<br />

have a problem<br />

seeing<br />

baitfish or<br />

schooling<br />

fish. There<br />

is a second<br />

sandbar that runs the entire<br />

beach and can easily be seen.<br />

Although that bar is too deep to<br />

wade fish from, I usually have<br />

pretty good luck fishing the<br />

deep-water gut and the water<br />

on top of the second bar. Both<br />

of which are within lure casting<br />

range when standing in waist<br />

deep water just off the beachfront.<br />

On one of my last trips I<br />

was casting red/white mullet<br />

plugs and having the best time<br />

catching and releasing lady fish.<br />

I would watch for the schools to<br />

work the bait fish just on top of<br />

the second bar and with every<br />

well-placed cast, I connected<br />

with a ladyfish which ran and<br />

danced out of the water like a<br />

small tarpon. <strong>No</strong>t good for the<br />

table, but certainly an awesome<br />

fighting fish on light tackle. I<br />

have also seen guys fishing for<br />

Pompano, Mackerel, Redfish, and<br />

have even heard of guys catching<br />

small sailfish during certain<br />

times of year using Kayaks just<br />

offshore. I don’t think you can<br />

find cleaner water, prettier white<br />

sand beaches, and a better place<br />

to take the family, all just a tenhour<br />

drive from Houston. You<br />

should make plans now because<br />

you will not be the only one<br />

looking to escape your house<br />

lock-down to enjoy some social<br />

distancing with a fishing rod just<br />

off the beach.<br />

If you are going there:<br />

While there are some small<br />

hotels, most of the people rent<br />

homes off Airbnb or VRBO. I<br />

recommend finding a home in<br />

Old Seagrove or Watercolor<br />

or if you want to splurge and<br />

get beachfront, I found Grayton<br />

Beach, Blue Mountain Beach and<br />

Dune Allen Beach to be a better<br />

value. If you are not the house<br />

or condo rental type, you can<br />

look at staying in Sandestin at<br />

the Marriott Courtyard, or there<br />

is a nice small hotel called 30a<br />

Suites I recommend. For all your<br />

fishing needs, go see the guys at<br />

Bay Baits near the Hwy 331 Bay<br />

Bridge, or Old Florida Outfitters<br />

off 30a.<br />

For all of your kayak or bike<br />

rental needs, or even to have a<br />

private beach bonfire set up for<br />

you, Rent Gear Here is an easy,<br />

full-service company that delivers<br />

everything right to you.<br />

Favorite restaurants are Cowgirl<br />

Kitchen or Perfect Pig for<br />

Breakfast, the Great Southern<br />

Cafe or the Shrimp Shack in<br />

Seaside for lunch, and The Bay<br />

Restaurant or Amici Italian Kitchen<br />

for dinner.<br />

116 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 117


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120 120 The The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE<br />

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ADS BACK IN THE DAY<br />

122 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 123


124 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE<br />

The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 125


Clifton Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 06/11/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

Schleicher County Sheriff's Office Get Info Peace Officer 07/30/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

City of Baytown Get Info Chief of Police 07/30/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

City of Center Get Info Peace Officer 07/21/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

Carrollton Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 06/12/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

Houston Community College PD Get Info Peace Officer 06/11/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

Corsicana Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 06/11/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

City of Bellmead Get Info Peace Officer 06/11/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

Glasscock County Sheriff’s Office Get Info Peace Officer 06/14/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

City of Elgin Get Info Peace Officer 06/16/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

Schleicher County Sheriff Get Info Peace Officer 06/25/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

Baylor University Get Info Peace Officer 06/14/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

Glasscock County Sheriff’s Office Get Info Peace Officer 06/15/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

City of Bulverde Get Info Peace Officer 06/16/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

Lufkin Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 06/11/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

Pelican Bay Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 06/16/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

Ransom Canyon Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 06/26/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

Pelican Bay Police Department Get Info Peace Officer (Reserve) 06/16/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

Avlarado ISD Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 06/26/<strong>2021</strong> - 2pm<br />

Cedar Hill ISD PD Get Info Peace Office 06/19/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

Texas A&M University-Commerce PD Get Info Peace Officer 07/26/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

Hays County Constables Office Precinct 1 Get Info Peace Officer 06/21/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

Spur Police Department Get Info Chief of Police 06/30/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

Fair Oaks Ranch Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 10/10/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

Waco Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 08/31/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

City of Crosbyton Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 06/19/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

Kendall County Sheriff's Office Get Info Peace Officer (Investigator) 06/30/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

Coryell County Sheriff’s Office Get Info Peace Officer 06/22/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

Anna ISD Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 07/23/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

Texas Woman’s University Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 06/23/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

Argyle Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 07/25/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

Oldham County Sheriff's Office Get Info Peace Officer 06/01/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

Flower Mound Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 07/28/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

Aubrey Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 06/16/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

Seagraves Police Department Get Info Chief of Police 08/27/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

TJC Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 06/27/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

Victoria Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 07/27/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

Lamar University Get Info Chief of Police 06/03/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

Nassau Bay Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 07/31/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

McLennan Community College Police Dept. Get Info Peace Officer 07/30/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

Bryan Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 07/23/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

City of Onalaska Get Info Peace Officer 07/07/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

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Merkel Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 07/07/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

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Houston Community College PD Get Info Chief of Police 06/18/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

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Anderson County Sheriff’s Office Get Info Peace Officer 07/11/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

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Town of Enchanted Oaks Get Info Chief of Police 07/16/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

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Austin College Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 07/18/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

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<strong>No</strong>rth Central Texas College Get Info Peace Officer 08/11/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

Kleberg County Sheriff's Office Get Info Peace Officer 07/11/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

City of Katy Get Info Peace Officer 07/02/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

Kleberg County Sheriff's Office Get Info Court Security Officer 07/11/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

Loving County Sheriffs Office Get Info School Resource Officer 08/11/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

TRWD Law Enforcement Division Get Info Peace Officer 06/30/<strong>2021</strong> - 5pm<br />

126 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 127


EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS<br />

• Paid Vacation<br />

• Sick Leave<br />

• Paid Holidays<br />

• Personal Days<br />

• Compensatory Days<br />

• Certification Pay<br />

ALDINE ISD POLICE DEPT.<br />

now accepting applications for<br />

Dispatch Supervisor<br />

Salary starting at $47,211<br />

Dispatchers<br />

Salary starting at $32,<strong>37</strong>3<br />

TO APPLY VISIT<br />

WWW.ALDINEISD.ORG<br />

OR<br />

Contact the Personnel<br />

Department at<br />

281-985-7571<br />

OR<br />

Contact Sergeant R. Hall at<br />

281-442-4923<br />

HIRING PROCESS<br />

• Oral Board Panel Interview<br />

• Complete Personal History Statement<br />

• Psychological Evaluation<br />

• Medical Examination<br />

• Interview with the Chief of Police<br />

LATERAL DEPUTY<br />

128 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 129


MAKE A<br />

DIFFERENCE<br />

IN YOUR<br />

COMMUNITY<br />

We are looking for outstanding individuals to<br />

join our team! As a Pearland Police Officer your<br />

mission will be to prevent crime and disorder, build<br />

partnerships within the community, and positively<br />

impact the quality of life for all our residents.<br />

CITY OF PEARLAND, TEXAS<br />

• Competitive Salary • Outstanding Training<br />

• Career Advancement • Exceptional Benefits<br />

The City of Pearland is one of the fastest growing<br />

communities within the region. Pearland is located<br />

approximately 20 minutes south of Downtown Houston<br />

and the current population is approximately 130,000<br />

residents.<br />

JOIN OUR TEAM<br />

HIRING POLICE OFFICERS AND CADETS<br />

$5,000 Hiring Incentive for T.C.O.L.E Certified Police<br />

Officers who qualify with at least 2 years of experience.<br />

TEST DATE:<br />

SATURDAY, APRIL 24, 8:30 A.M.<br />

Register by: April 12.<br />

Pearland Recreation Center & Natatorium<br />

4141 Bailey Road, Pearland, TX 77584.<br />

Doors Open: 7:15 a.m. <strong>No</strong> admittance after 7:45 a.m.<br />

Candidates must park in the north parking lot.<br />

SOCIAL DISTANCING MEASURES WILL APPLY<br />

• Attendance limited to first 150 arrivals<br />

• Mandatory temperature checks<br />

• Masks required, hand sanitizer available<br />

• Candidates seated 6 feet apart<br />

<br />

<br />

•Be a citizen of the nited tates able to read,<br />

write, and speak the English language<br />

• Have a high school diploma or equivalency certificate .E.. certified by<br />

the issuing agency with:<br />

0 credit hours with a cumulative PA of 2.0 or higher on a .0 scale from an accredited<br />

institute of higher learning or<br />

- Minimum 24 months of active duty service with an honorable discharge authenticated by<br />

a Member 2 or Member orm 21 or<br />

15 credit hours with a cumulative PA of 2.0 or higher on a .0 scale in addition to Basic<br />

Peace Officer Certification from TCOLE or<br />

An Intermediate Peace Officer Certification from TCOLE<br />

• Valid driver’s license with acceptable driving record<br />

• Must meet all legal requirements necessary to become a licensed Peace Officer by the Texas<br />

Commission on Law Enforcement TCOLE.<br />

• Be between 21 and 5 years of age at the time of the examination or<br />

• Be between 18 and 21 years of age if the applicant has received an associate’s degree or 60<br />

semester hours of credit from an accredited college or university or has received an honorable<br />

discharge from the armed forces of the nited tates after at least two years of active service.<br />

: Cadet $1. hourly Police Officer $2. hourly.<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

April 12, <strong>2021</strong>. Applications will not be accepted after this date.<br />

Submit applications online by visiting pearlandtx.gov/careers.<br />

THE CITY OF PEARLAND IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER<br />

pecial accommodations are available when necessary to aord equal opportunity to participate<br />

in testing. Please make request in writing, five business days prior to the test date to City of<br />

Pearland, HR Department, 3519 Liberty Drive, Pearland, TX 77581.<br />

or questions regarding the application process please contact Terene uddsohnson at<br />

281.652.1617 or hr@pearlandtx.gov.<br />

List will remain in eect for one 1 year or until exhausted, whichever is sooner.<br />

130 The For BLUES additional POLICE information MAGAZINE and to register for an upcoming Civil Service Exam, visit<br />

The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 131<br />

pearlandtx.gov/PDCareers


Montgomery<br />

County Pct. 4<br />

Constable's<br />

Office<br />

full-time<br />

&<br />

reserve<br />

COME JOIN US!<br />

great retirement &<br />

great insurance<br />

Advancement Opportunities: Criminal<br />

Investigations - Special Response Team - Honor<br />

Guard - Special Response Group - Swift Water<br />

Rescue Team - K9 - Mounted Patrol - Drone team<br />

overtime opportunities: step - dwi<br />

enforcement - special teams - evidence - jp<br />

security<br />

Stipend Pay: k9 - specialist - fto deputy<br />

paid time off: holiday - vacation - comp time -<br />

personal - paid training<br />

salary - step pay slotted based on tcole full-time years of<br />

service:<br />

Under 2 yrs - $48,755.20 9 Yrs - $59,508.80<br />

2 Yrs - $51,188.80 12 Yrs - $61,150.40<br />

4 Yrs - $53,726.40 15 Yrs - $65,270.40<br />

6 Yrs - $56,368.00 16+ Yrs - $68,536.0<br />

license certification (up to $3599) and longevity pay<br />

civil service protected<br />

MORE INFO:<br />

Constable Kenneth "Rowdy" Hayden<br />

Pickup and complete applicant in 1.<br />

person.<br />

questionnaire<br />

Pct. 4 Constable, Montgomery County, TX<br />

assessment, 2.<br />

written exam<br />

Firearms qualification, fitness<br />

21130 personality Hwy assessment 59 scheduled.<br />

Ste. C New Caney, TX and 77357<br />

www.mcco4.org - 281.577.8985 -<br />

candidates 3.<br />

passing Successfully personal<br />

receive will<br />

@mcconstablepct4<br />

book.<br />

history<br />

132 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 133<br />

board.<br />

4. Oral


Come join the Plano Police Department<br />

Plano Police Department currently employs over 414 peace officers, who are dedicated individuals that<br />

work with the community to create and maintain a safe, secure environment for our residents and visitors.<br />

We are a diverse department, which is a reflection of the various cultures within the community, and offering<br />

many different opportunities to promote the safety of the citizens which we serve.<br />

Registration Deadline:<br />

Friday, July 30, <strong>2021</strong><br />

Register at:<br />

https://www.plano.gov/1183/Employment<br />

The Plano Police Department will conduct<br />

a Civil Service Examination in order to<br />

establish an eligibility list for the position<br />

of Entry-level Police Officer. The eligibility<br />

list is created as a result of this examination<br />

and application process will remain in effect<br />

for a period of (6) months (beginning<br />

on date of test) or until the list has been<br />

exhausted, whichever occurs first.<br />

For more information:<br />

Contact the Plano Police recruiter<br />

Officer Andrae Smith at:<br />

andraes@plano.gov<br />

or go to our website at:<br />

ppdrecruiting@plano.gov<br />

134 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 135


Ingram Police Department<br />

NOW HIRING<br />

FULL-TIME POLICE OFFICERS<br />

June <strong>2021</strong><br />

A PROFESSION THAT MAKES YOU PROUD<br />

Ingram Police Department<br />

226 Hwy 39<br />

Ingram, Texas 78025<br />

(830) 367-2636<br />

Texas Peace Officers,<br />

The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) has started the hiring process for the next<br />

Probationary Agent Academy. Several positions will be filled throughout the State of Texas.<br />

TABC investigates offenses related to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code, the Texas Penal Code,<br />

and other applicable statutes. TABC ensures public safety at licensed and permitted locations and<br />

participates in undercover operations to eliminate organized crime. TABC conducts complex<br />

human trafficking investigations throughout Texas.<br />

Minimum Job Qualifications:<br />

• Must be at least 21 years of age,<br />

• Must have a valid Texas driver license, and<br />

• Must be certified as a Texas peace officer by the Texas Commission on Law<br />

Enforcement (TCOLE).<br />

• Four years of law enforcement experience required but may be substituted for a related<br />

degree or military experience. Refer to job posting number 202299999 for additional<br />

details.<br />

• Travel Requirement: Ability to travel up to 90%<br />

Qualified candidates must pass the physical readiness test and complete the written exam. The next<br />

step includes an interview and pre-employment background check, which includes but is not<br />

limited to comprehensive background investigation, criminal history, driving record and credit<br />

checks.<br />

Starting Salary $46,720<br />

Vacation, Holiday, and Sick Pay Provided<br />

Health Insurance, Life Insurance, 2-1 Retirement<br />

match, take home vehicle within service area.<br />

Minimum of basic police certification required<br />

For additional information regarding this job opportunity, visit the TABC Website.<br />

136 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 1<strong>37</strong>


MILAM COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE<br />

WE’RE HIRING!<br />

PAY<br />

Patrol Deputy: $49,220/yr<br />

Sergeant:<br />

$51,360/yr<br />

CID Lieutenant: $56,705/yr<br />

CID Captain:<br />

$58,845/yr<br />

BENEFITS:<br />

PATROL DEPUTY OPENING!<br />

It’s not just a job<br />

It’s a Career<br />

Health Insurance: 100% of premium paid ($9,193.20/yr).<br />

County Retirement benefits provided.<br />

Vacation, Holiday, Sick Leave.<br />

Longevity pay begins after 4 years.<br />

Vehicle: Take-home vehicle.<br />

Cell phone: County-provided cell phone<br />

DEPUTY CITY MARSHAL<br />

JOB POSTING<br />

The City of Bryan, Texas is currently accepting applications for Deputy City Marshal. This position serves warrants, subpoenas,<br />

and writs out of the Bryan Municipal Court and performs duties as bailiff during court sessions.<br />

RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE:<br />

• Serves arrest warrants, subpoenas, and various misdemeanor writs issued by the Municipal Court.<br />

• Researches location of wanted individuals utilizing various computers, associated software, directories, law enforcement<br />

agencies and business establishments.<br />

• Prior to warrant execution, conducts a warrant check on each warrant to be served. <strong>No</strong>tifies defendants of active warrant(s)<br />

and advises to pay fines/fees in order to avoid arrest.<br />

• Apprehends, arrests, and maintains custody of offenders; safely and securely transports offenders to jail, court, medical<br />

facilities and any other designated locations.<br />

• Prepares reports and processes all paperwork related to serving and clearing warrants.<br />

• Collects fines and/or receives cash bonds.<br />

• Serves as court bailiff and performs related duties as needed.<br />

• Operates assigned patrol vehicles. Emergency and pursuit situations require speeds in excess of posted limits and require<br />

officers to exercise due care and caution.<br />

• Demonstrates competent weapons proficiency per certification standards; Must be able to load, unload, aim, and fire<br />

assigned weapon from a variety of body positions and under conditions of stress.<br />

• Performs related duties as required.<br />

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:<br />

• High School Diploma or GED, plus some additional training or education in area of specialization equivalent to an Associate's<br />

degree.<br />

• Must possess least two (2) year of experience as a marshal, warrant officer or patrol officer with a Texas municipal court or<br />

police department, or equivalent.<br />

• Must possess a basic certification (or higher) as a peace officer by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE).<br />

• Must possess Court Security Specialist Certification from TCOLE, or have the ability to obtain the certification within one (1)<br />

year from date of hire.<br />

• If applicable, discharge from military service must be under honorable conditions.<br />

• Must possess good moral character, stable employment record and no history of any conduct which may affect suitability<br />

for law enforcement work.<br />

STARTING SALARY:<br />

$46,900 - $58,240 / year (depending on experience)<br />

APPLY IN PERSON OR AT WWW.MILAMCOUNTYTX.ORG<br />

Q U E S T I O N S ? C A L L: 254.697.7033<br />

TO APPLY:<br />

A City of Bryan application is required. If interested, visit the link below and select ‘Apply to this Posting’. Please attach a<br />

resume at the time of application. Applicants will receive an online confirmation upon successfully applying.<br />

CLICK HERE TO APPLY<br />

138 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 139


POLICE OFFICER<br />

The City of Katy is accepting applications for full-time Police Officers for the Katy Police Department.<br />

The primary responsibility of all uniform patrol officers is to protect the lives and property of the people of the City<br />

of Katy, to enforce the laws of the government, state and city and to serve the people in the manner necessary<br />

within the scope and duty of their particular assignment.<br />

ESSENTIAL DUTIES:<br />

• Acts as a crime deterrent; patrols all businesses and residential neighborhoods looking for suspicious and<br />

criminal activities<br />

• Prepares a variety of reports and records including but not limited to daily logs, investigation reports, field<br />

interrogation reports, accident reports, and arrest reports<br />

• Responds to calls for service; investigates accident scenes, reports of criminal activities, civil and domestic<br />

disturbances, illegal drug activities, and missing persons; takes appropriate actions; investigates unsafe<br />

conditions in streets and other locations<br />

• Conducts searches of vehicles, homes, businesses, and other areas for contraband and drugs; assists in<br />

serving warrants and subpoenas<br />

• Performs traffic enforcement duties; enforces traffic laws and issues citations; makes arrests as appropriate<br />

MINIMUM JOB REQUIREMENTS/QUALIFICATIONS:<br />

• Minimum age 21. High School or GED.<br />

• Must be a current TCOLE Certified Peace Officer, or in the process of obtaining by September 1, <strong>2021</strong>.<br />

• Ability to work all shifts, holidays and weekends, and a variety of assignments as directed<br />

• Applicants must pass a physical agility test, firearms proficiency test, written exam, oral interview board,<br />

background check, psychological, and post-offer medical exam and drug screen<br />

• Applicants must be a minimum 21 years of age, a U.S. citizen, hold a valid State of Texas Driver License and<br />

have good driving record<br />

• Applicants must have never been convicted of a Class B misdemeanor in the last ten years or ever been<br />

convicted of a Class A misdemeanor<br />

• Military discharges must be Honorable; TCOLE discharges must be Honorable<br />

• Applicants must pass a standardized push up and sit up test, Concept 2- 2000 meter row test, firearms course<br />

and written test.<br />

TESTING DATE: July 13, <strong>2021</strong>, 9:00 AM.<br />

Eligible applicants will be contacted regarding testing.<br />

Deadline to apply: July 1, <strong>2021</strong><br />

Apply online: www.cityofkaty.com<br />

The City of Katy is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disability Amendments Act and is an Equal Opportunity Employer.<br />

6/10/21<br />

140 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 141


Starting Salary<br />

$44,995<br />

────<br />

Vacation, Holiday,<br />

and Sick Pay<br />

Provided<br />

────<br />

The City of Victoria<br />

invites applications for the position of:<br />

Police Officer or Senior Police Officer<br />

Salary<br />

$48,045 - $68,500 Annually DOQ<br />

Location<br />

Victoria, TX<br />

Job Type<br />

Full-Time<br />

MUSTANG<br />

RIDGE POLICE<br />

DEPARTMENT<br />

NOW HIRING<br />

CERTIFIED<br />

OFFICERS<br />

Join Our Team Today!<br />

The City of Mustang Ridge is situated along US Hwy 183 and is<br />

located primarily in Travis County with portions in Caldwell and<br />

Bastrop County. We are minutes away from Circuit of the<br />

Americas and ABIA. Officers work rotating 12 hour shifts and we<br />

utilize the Travis County Sheriff’s Office for Dispatch.<br />

12 Hour Shifts<br />

────<br />

401K Provided<br />

────<br />

Angel Armor Load<br />

Bearing Vest<br />

Provided<br />

SUBMIT COMPLETED<br />

PERSONAL HISTORY<br />

STATEMENTS TO:<br />

lcantu@mustangridgetx.gov<br />

clerk@mustangridgetx.gov<br />

PHS Forms can be obtained<br />

at the following link:<br />

https://www.tcole.texas.gov/<br />

content/forms-andapplications<br />

JOB SUMMARY<br />

The Victoria Police Department is hiring qualified police officer candidates to join our<br />

team and to help enhance the livability of our community. VPD sets the bar for<br />

professionalism, innovation and a progressive approach to our policing strategies. Our<br />

workforce of more than 115 officers and 32 civilian support personnel are a dedicated,<br />

enthusiastic group of professionals who proudly serve over 65,000 Victoria residents.<br />

The Victoria Police Department offers a competitive salary and retirement structure,<br />

great health benefits, and many other incentives such as paid time off and departmentissued<br />

uniforms and equipment.<br />

Officers have lateral and promotional opportunities. Regardless of the assignment, you<br />

will work in an environment that fosters leadership, teamwork and courteous service to<br />

our community.<br />

<strong>No</strong> prior law enforcement experience is required but must be certified as a TCOLE<br />

Peace Officer. Upon employment, you will participate in the City of Victoria Police<br />

Department Field Training Program. You will receive specialized training from some of<br />

the finest officers in law enforcement.<br />

Salary amount offered will depend on qualifications. Lateral pay scale recognized for<br />

Senior Police Officers. This is a non-exempt position.<br />

Applicants currently attending a TCOLE Academy are encouraged to apply.<br />

Employment eligibility will require successful completion of the Academy courses and<br />

certification as a TCOLE Peace Officer.<br />

To learn more about this exciting opportunity and to apply, visit<br />

www.victoriatx.gov<br />

142 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 143


Position Title: Criminal Investigator<br />

Position Type: Criminal Investigation Division<br />

Closing Date: June 30, <strong>2021</strong><br />

Job Description:<br />

Salary Information:<br />

Kendall County Sheriff’s Office<br />

Under general supervision, the purpose of the position is to conduct thorough investigations on<br />

misdemeanor and felony crimes, collect and preserve evidence, interrogate offenders, question<br />

witnesses and victims, prepare case files for testimony in Grand Jury and trials, establish and<br />

maintain liaison with local, county, state, federal and public officials, and abide by all lawful<br />

policies and procedures, orders, and instructions issued by the Kendall County Sheriff’s Office.<br />

$57,685 – $60,730 (depending on experience)<br />

KELLER POLICE DEPARTMENT<br />

NOW HIRING POLICE OFFICERS<br />

Laterals and New Hires<br />

Application Submission<br />

Personal History Statement (PHS): Candidates MUST complete the (PHS) and<br />

bring it with them, notarized, with all appropriate documentation on their<br />

scheduled written test date.<br />

Testing: A study guide is available for purchase<br />

Benefits Include:<br />

Annual Salary Increases<br />

Health Benefits<br />

Life/Disability Insurance<br />

Texas District and County Retirement System (TDCRS)<br />

Vacation, Holiday, Sick & Bereavement Leave<br />

County Paid Uniforms and Vehicle<br />

TEST DATES: Wednesday, July 14, <strong>2021</strong> & Saturday, July 17, <strong>2021</strong><br />

Candidates must achieve a minimum passing score on the written test in order<br />

to be considered for employment. TO REGISTER, GO TO:<br />

https://phe.tbe.taleo.net/phe01/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?<br />

org=CITYOFKELLER&cws=1&rid=730<br />

Job Requirements: Age 21<br />

High School diploma or equivalent required supplemented by two (2) to three (3) years previous<br />

experience or training that includes law enforcement, knowledge of criminal laws and codes, and<br />

investigations; some college preferred<br />

Experience Preferred<br />

Applicants must possess a current T.C.O.L.E. license as a Peace Officer<br />

Knowledge of the English language, spelling and grammar. General knowledge of Microsoft<br />

Word and Power Point are encouraged.<br />

AND COMPLETE THE REGISTRATION FORM AND PERSONAL HISTORY<br />

STATEMENT.<br />

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT SGT. DARRELL POTTS AT 817-743-4543,<br />

DPOTTS@CITYOFKELLER.COM OR VISIT CITYOFKELLER.COM<br />

DEADLINE TO REGISTER IS 5PM ON July 9, <strong>2021</strong><br />

Bilingual preferred<br />

Contact:<br />

Lt. Butch Matjeka, Operations Commander<br />

Kendall County Sheriff’s Office<br />

6 Staudt St.<br />

Boerne, TX. 78006<br />

830-249-9721<br />

On-Line Application: https://www.kendallcountysheriff.com/employment<br />

144 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 145


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"It's <strong>No</strong>t Just a Job, It's a Commitment"<br />

The New Braunfels Police Department is accepting applications for Certified<br />

Officers.<br />

Applications are available on the City’s Human Resources page:<br />

https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/cityofnewbraunfels/jobs/3072940/police<br />

-officer-certified<br />

Applications closing date: July 14, <strong>2021</strong><br />

J O B D U T I E S<br />

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n t e r v i e w s s u s p e c t s a n d t a k e s s t a t e m e n t s .<br />

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r i t e s o f f e n s e , i n c i d e n t , a r r e s t a n d<br />

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m p o u n d m e n t r e p o r t s .<br />

i<br />

n f o r m s t h e c o m m u n i t y o f c r i m e p r e v e n t i o n ,<br />

I<br />

o r k s 1 2 - h o u r s h i f t s , i n c l u d i n g n i g h t s ,<br />

W<br />

e e k e n d s a n d h o l i d a y s .<br />

w<br />

Q U A L I F I C A T I O N S<br />

The first year starting annual base pay for certified police officers is $58,321 with<br />

a $3,000 sign-on and retention incentive (paid out in three $1,000 annual lump<br />

sum payments).<br />

Additional pay benefits are available for special assignments, bilingual ability, and<br />

higher-level education, and certification. Benefits include: Paid vacation/sick<br />

leave/holidays, military leave, retirement, and tuition reimbursement.<br />

Applicants must possess a TCOLE certification by test date. Applicants must be at<br />

least 21 years old and cannot have reached their 45 th birthday by test date.<br />

Applicants must possess a valid TCOLE license by test date. All applicants must<br />

be able to pass a medical/drug screen, a thorough background check, a polygraph<br />

exam, psychological evaluation, and physical agility tests.<br />

Visit https://www.nbtexas.org/920/Employment to learn more.<br />

Questions? joinnbpd@nbtexas.org or (830) 221-2139.<br />

146 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 147


CITY OF CARROLLTON<br />

Firefighters’ and Police Officers’<br />

Civil Service Commission<br />

Announces<br />

POLICE DEPARTMENT<br />

Entrance Examination Test Date: April 10, <strong>2021</strong><br />

REGISTRATION ENDS ON:<br />

April 10, <strong>2021</strong> at 9:00 a.m.<br />

Examination Date: Saturday, April 10, <strong>2021</strong> at<br />

9:00a.m. - Written Exam<br />

To register go to: www.cityofcarrollton.com/police<br />

Complete the online registration to be submitted electronically to:<br />

Carrollton Police Department<br />

2025 East Jackson Road<br />

Carrollton, Texas 75006<br />

Phone: 972 466 3028<br />

Website: www.cityofcarrollton.com/police<br />

Email: policedevelopment@cityofcarrollton.com<br />

City of Carrollton is an Equal Opportunity Employer<br />

148 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 149


JASON CHATHAM<br />

SHERIFF<br />

SCHLEICHER COUNTY<br />

Open Position:<br />

The Schleicher County Sheriff’s Office is currently seeking qualified applicants for the position of<br />

Deputy Sheriff. All applicants must hold a current Texas Peace Officer License. Qualified applicants<br />

will be subject to an extensive criminal history and background investigation. Applicants must have<br />

good communication skills and good organizational skills. Applicants must be self-motivated and<br />

able to work with little supervision. Applicants must be of high moral and ethical character, highly<br />

motivated, and trustworthy.<br />

Benefits:<br />

Hourly rate of $21.00 / Annual Average of $46,000.00 Plus, Overtime and Holiday Pay<br />

Group Health and Life Insurance with no charge to the employee<br />

*25 K Life Insurance<br />

*25 K Accidental Death or Dismemberment<br />

*1 Year Salary paid to Beneficiary<br />

Retirement Plan through Texas County and District Retirement System<br />

*Employee / County Match at 7%<br />

* Fully vested after 8 years<br />

Sick Leave accrues upon employment at one day per month<br />

Two weeks of vacation after the first year of employment.<br />

Paid Holidays<br />

Take-home vehicle<br />

Uniforms provided (excluding footwear)<br />

Body Armor provided<br />

Duty Weapons and Equipment Issuance<br />

Paid Training<br />

If you are interested, contact us by telephone at (325) 853-27<strong>37</strong> or in person at 4 S. Divide in Eldorado.<br />

__________________________________________________________________________________________<br />

MORE INFO: Visit WWW.CITYOFSACHSE.COM<br />

or call (972) 495-2271<br />

4 S. Divide Street | Eldorado, Texas 76936 | Phone (325) 853-27<strong>37</strong> | Fax (325) 853-2713<br />

Email: sheriff@co.schleicher.tx.us<br />

150 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 151


Memorial Villages Police Department<br />

Bunker Hill • Piney Point• Hunters Creek<br />

Police Officer<br />

EOE/M/F/D<br />

5+ Years Patrol Experience Required<br />

The Memorial Villages Police Department (Located on the West Side of Houston) currently has<br />

openings for experienced officers who are self- motivated and enthusiastic about community<br />

policing. We have overwhelming support of our communities and encourage our officers to be<br />

proactive and innovative.<br />

$1500 Sign on Bonus<br />

Starting Salary Range<br />

$71,179 – $82,808 (DOQ)<br />

• Healthcare Insurance, DHMO Dental, Vision – 100% paid for employee, 50% for<br />

spouse/dependents.<br />

• Paid long-term disability and life insurance for employee, with additional life insurance<br />

available for spouse/dependents.<br />

• Health Savings Account with departmental contributions up to $4200 annually<br />

• TMRS Retirement 2 to 1 match, 7% Employee ,14% Employer Contribution.<br />

• 457 Plan with employer contribution of 2% of annual salary<br />

• Bi-Lingual Pay (2.5% of Base salary)<br />

• Shift Differential Pay $3600 annually<br />

• Tuition reimbursement<br />

• Longevity Pay up to a max of $2400 annually at 10 years of service.<br />

• College Education incentive up to $3000 for a master’s degree<br />

• LEMIT or FBI NA pay $1200 annually.<br />

• ECA (Emergency Care Assistant) $1300 Annually, training provided to each employee.<br />

• 12 hour shifts with every other Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off.<br />

• Officer certification pay, Intermediate, Advanced, and Master up to 7.5% of Salary.<br />

To learn more or apply, visit our website at www.mvpdtx.org<br />

Or contact Sgt. Owens 713-365-<strong>37</strong>11 or lowens@mvpdtx.org<br />

Or Commander E. Jones 713-365-<strong>37</strong>06 ejones@mvpdtx.org<br />

11981 Memorial Dr. Houston, Texas 77024<br />

152 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 153

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